Heart of the Musician
by zenophobiaz
Summary: After Mana's death, Allen is raised by the Noahs. They become his family, but what happens when he begins awakening as the 14th, the supposed 'traitor' in the family? And what about the Order, their enemy? Evil & Noah Allen. Poker Pair. Rated M for violence. On hiatus.
1. Chapter 01: The Unexpected

_**Full Summary:**_ _**After some unexpected events after Mana's death, Allen ends up living with the Noahs and is raised by them. Allen ends up loving his new family a whole lot and they are his treasure, but when he discovers something that is unexpected... what will he do?**_

_**A/N: well. the story's name just came to me after some hard thinking and I decided to just go with the name because... i have waited long enough to post my story... I was gonna post it sooner, but I couldn't think of a name for this story.. and yes... Allen is going to become a Noah later... and he's gonna be pretty twisted and sorta evil? I mean.. what do you expect from a child who was raised by the Noahs? :P I personally LOVE the Noahs... and I love the Noah Allen~!**_

**_Oh yeah, one more thing before I stop 'talking', I am not really going to focus on the descriptions of a character's appearance, because you all probably already know what they look like! I will prob only focus on the descriptions if I have an OC... which i prob won't? not sure. :) actually I will. But I will limit the amount coz a lotta people don't like OCs and I personally don't like having them playing a big part in a story I guess?_**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own DGM... but i wish i did... :)_**

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Unexpected**

* * *

A white-haired, scrawny looking boy was wandering on the dark run-down street searching for something. He was feeling very hungry and cold, inside and outside, he had just turned his own father, Mana, into an akuma after being led to believe that he could bring Mana back to life by a unique-sized man who called himself the Millennium Earl. The boy didn't hate or blame the Millennium Earl, after all, it was his own childish dreams and stupidity that led him to make such a decision.

* * *

**-an hour or so ago-**

"Hello boy, would you like to bring this person back to life?" a voice asked the white-haired boy that was grieving in front of a grave. The boy looked up and found a rounded man with a top hat holding a pumpkin-topped umbrella in his hands looking at him with a wide and creepy grin. The grin sent shivers down the boy's back, but he took no notice of it.

"Who are you?" The boy asked with all traces of grief gone from his face and instead hope shined in the boy's eyes.

"I am the Millennium Earl. What's your name boy?" the Earl asked with slight interest. '_This boy is... is... hm.. what's the word for it,'_ the Earl thought in his head.

"My name is Allen Walker, sir," Allen replied politely. He was raised to be polite and have good manners at all times. He had learned that people only like polite boys, and he wanted to be liked.

_'So polite_,' the Earl thought.

"Allen dear, who is this you are grieving for?" the Earl asked with an even wider grin causing another shiver down Allen's back.

"Mana, he's my foster father." A sparkle of grief shown in Allen's eyes, but it was quickly erased when he remembered what the Earl had asked when he appeared and so he added, "Is it true that Mana can come back to life?"

"Yes. But I would need your help with that. Would you still like to bring him back to life?" the Earl replied with slight uneasiness, he felt a little sorry for the adorable boy.

_'Sorry?' _the Earl thought and chuckled when he realized what had happened, '_He is pretty adorable. Sort of like Tyki-pon and my dear Road.'_ He tried justifying himself, but even he wasn't convinced.

The boy looked confused for a little while when the Earl chuckled, but the thought of Mana coming back to life quickly took over and without hesitation, he requested, "Can you please bring Mana back to life then? I would do anything."

"Alright, boy," the Earl replied and instantly, their surroundings changed. Their surroundings were now purple and in front of Allen, a skeleton with the name Mana written on it was hung on a pole, much like what they do with prisoners that were about to be hung, except without the string and with handcuffs instead.

"I-is that Mana?" the boy asked with slight hesitation. He had a hard time believing that such a skeleton was his beloved Mana.

"No, not yet. But he will be soon once you have done what you need to." The Earl replied looking at the boy's face, especially his eyes.

"W-what do I have to do?" Allen asked looking at the Earl and a hint of red was shown on his cheek when he noticed the Earl was looking at him.

"All you have to do is call you father's name," the Earl instructed carefully.

"Really? That's simple." The boy was a little surprised at how little he needed to do.

"Yes. Are you ready?"

"Yes," Allen replied and then sucking in a breath, he opened his mouth and shouted with all he had, "MANA! MANA!"

Suddenly, the skeleton started moving like it had just woken up and transformed in a brownish-red creature with yellow cat-like eyes and long limbs and arms. It stretched and suddenly caught sight of the boy who had 'resurrected' him. "ALLEN!' the creature roared.

"Mana!" Allen exclaimed with surprise and joy. Even though the voice had changed a little, Allen could still recognize it clearly, it was his beloved Mana.

"What have you done?" the Mana-creature roared in anger causing Allen to take a step back with slight panic.

"W-what do you mean? I brought you back to life. I am so happy that you are back, Mana." Allen stammered with wide eyes at first, but when he thought of all the things that he can do with Mana once again, his voice changed to one of excitement.

The Earl was watching this in the shadows with interest. He silently ordered with slight grief, "Kill him, akuma." He liked the boy, he was adorable and interesting, but this was his nature, and he cannot defy his own nature.

"ALLEN," Mana shouted with spite, but his eyes shone tenderly with love at the sight and voice of the happy boy.

Allen was completely ignorant of the spite in Mana's voice. "Yes, Mana? Oh I am so excited with all—"

"You turned me into an AKUMA!" Mana accused with as much hatred as he could.

"An a-aku-akuma?" Allen asked with horrified eyes, he had finally recognized the hatred in Mana's voice and was terrified, he had never seen Mana sounding so angry.

"Yes, an akuma! A demon!" Mana shouted taking another step towards the frightened boy and glared at the boy.

"Mana! Wh-what are you saying? That's impossible! There's no such thing as an akuma!" The boy exclaimed in disbelief.

"Well you better believe it. Because there is one standing in front of you right now." Mana took another step forward causing Allen to take another step back, but stumbles and lands on the floor with a _thud_.

"W-what are you going to do?" Allen asked trying to move as far away from Mana as possible.

"What do you think?" Mana shouted baring his teeth and jumped, closing the distance between Allen and him.

"Y-you are not Mana. Mana would never do such a thing." Allen said frantically shaking his head like crazy. It was more like he was trying to persuade himself of that rather than replying. He kept repeated that over and over again.

Then noticing the creature that called himself Mana leaning down, he cried, "Please don't, Mana! STOP, NO MA―" His cry was cut off as Mana sliced through his left eye causing Allen to scream in pain. Allen's hand immediately flew towards his left eye and clutched it in pain. Blood began surfacing and the boy's hands were soon covered in blood.

"Allen... I love you." Mana whispered to the boy and Allen's eyes opened instantly in shock and surprise.

"Mana... I lo—" Allen was interrupted when Mana leaned back and his two hands flew down about to slam into Allen, but then suddenly, Allen's left hand shone brightly with a greenish light and defended Allen against Mana's incoming attack.

"Wh-what?" Allen stammered in shock when the impact between Allen's left hand and Mana's hands caused Mana to fall back a little. The Millennium Earl stared in shock and interest while Mana bristled with disbelief and narrowed his eyes.

When Allen saw Mana's reaction, he whispered with widened eyes, "You are not the Mana that I know anymore."

'Mana' just laughed cold-heartedly looking at Allen in the eye and said in a cruel voice, "How smart of you, boy."

Then, without hesitation, 'Mana' pounced onto the boy and lifted his hand, ready to attack. But then a cry of pain escaped from Mana's mouth and 'Mana' looked down at his chest. A red hand had cut through his chest and it was beginning to pull back revealing a claw-like hand. Allen's panicked eyes followed the movement of Mana's and gasped in shock when he saw his own hand coming out of Mana's chest.

"Ma-Mana?" Allen cried out in grief. He was confused and shocked, his hand had moved without him knowing. "_What happened?"_ his thought to himself.

"Live on" Mana whispered with a smile and suddenly dispersed into tiny sparkles of dust that rained down like snow.

"MANA!" Allen cried out in anguish once again, unable to grasp what had just happened. He was still staring at his hand in disbelief when his hand turned back into its original deformed form.

"What a sudden turn of events!" The Earl exclaimed with surprise in the shadow. The Earl chuckled, "What an interesting boy." And in the blink of an eye, there was nothing where the Earl was a moment ago. As a result, the surroundings turned back to that of a cemetery with Allen sitting in front of Mana's grave in distraught and grief once again.

* * *

**-back to present time-**

Allen had remembered what he promised Mana. Mana had made him promise to always keep moving forward on the path that he chose for himself and to never give up. So after pulling himself together, Allen decided he must find himself some food and a place to rest.

After walking a little while, Allen spotted a black-colored box with its lid open on a wooden bench a foot or so away. He walked towards the box as quickly as possible, but he was tired and hungry. When he reached the box, he saw a blanket-like sheet in it with a few pieces of clothing. Using the pieces of clothing as bedding, Allen climbed in and wrapped the blanket around him. Settling in after closing the lid, Allen's tiredness quickly drifted him off to sleep.

A few minutes later, a man with black curly hair and weird looking glasses in tattered-looking clothing with his hands filled with food walked towards the bench. When he reached the bench and placed his food down next to the box, the first thing that popped up in his head was, "Wasn't the suitcase open when I left? I guess it must have been the wind...whatever."

He zipped the suitcase up and settled down to eat. When he was halfway done with his food, a message suddenly popped up in his head.

_"Tyki...where are you?"_

"Crap" Tyki muttered, he thought, '_That was Road, wasn't it... I totally forgot..._'

The voice in his head sighed. "_Tyki... I knew it."_

"It really is Road. Sorry, Road. I will come after I finish eating," Tyki thought in his head knowing Road can hear him.

Road said in an unhappy voice, "_Alright, I will tell the Earl."_

"_Thanks_," Tyki thought. To Tyki, it was apparent that Road said that with a pout and he was going to be in slight trouble when he got to the Earl's mansion. "I will just have to eat while I still can_,_" Tyki muttered and went back to eating.

When Tyki was finished, he threw everything into a nearby trashcan and brushed himself off a little in case any food stuck to him.

He picks up the suitcase off the bench and muttered, "I guess I better get—WHOA"

Tyki nearly drops the suitcase due to its sudden increase in weight and catches it just in time. "That was dangerous... was the suitcase always this heavy? I guess I didn't notice..." He wondered to himself.

About to open the suitcase to examine it, Road's urgent voice in Tyki's head calling his name caused him to stop and he muttered, "Crap, better get going." With that, he placed the suitcase back into a standing position.

Pulling out the handle bar of the suitcase, Tyki holds on to it and starts off towards the direction of the Earl's mansion pulling the suitcase with him.

* * *

After arriving at the Earl's mansion, a dark-skinned teenage girl with spiky dark blue hair and seven stigmatas on her forehead had tackled Tyki and dragged him towards Tyki's room.

When she released Tyki, Tyki walked towards his bed and placed his suitcase beside his bed, forgetting about the increase of weight entirely.

Turning around, he was startled to see the Earl standing next to the girl with his usual grin.

"Hey Tyki-pon," the Earl greeted.

"Good evening." Tyki replied.

"If you wouldn't mind, Tyki-pon, please change your clothing before further discussion," the Earl requested.

"All right then," Tyki said with a sigh and headed towards his closet grabbing some clothing. He trotted off into the bathroom and closed the door.

"Hey Road, how have you been?" The Earl asked looking at the girl with affection.

"Millennie... you just saw me—" Road was interrupted when the bathroom door open and the man that stepped out was as different from the man that went in as day and night.

"Greetings, Joyd-pon," The Earl exclaimed with a smile when he saw the man.

"_Don't_ call me Joyd. _Only_ call me by Tyki," Tyki said putting an emphasis on _don't_ and _only_ and glared at the Earl. This Tyki had his haired slightly pulled back making the seven cross-shaped stigmata on his forehead stand out, golden eyes with gray skin tone and dressed in white-collared shirt with black pants.

"Fine." The Earl pouted.

"Tyki~ What have you been up to~?" Road asked as he bounced up to Tyki with open arms, "I terribly missed you."

"Sorry, Road. I missed you too," Tyki said as he embraced Road.

"Aw... Road and Tyki, so cute and adorable together!" The Earl exclaimed with affection as he clasped his two hands together. "Speaking of which—"

The Earl was interrupted when the sound of a yawn and some rustling was projected into the room. The Earl, Tyki and Road widened their eyes and started looking around the room to find the source of the sound, but found nothing suspicious.

"D-did you hear that?" asked Tyki hesitantly. He wasn't sure if it was just him or what.

"Yup~ loud and clear~" Road replied, relieved that she wasn't the only one. She and Tyki then looked at the Earl and it was apparent that he heard it too.

"Anyways, as I was saying... today I went to another poor person's grave and found this totally ADORABLE child in front of the grave," The Earl exclaimed with an even wider grin, as if it was possible. Tyki and Road just looked at him with a surprised look, the Earl has never taken such an interest in a mere child, well, except for the people within the Noah family.

The Earl continued, "And so I did my usual and guess what? This child—"

Again, the Earl was interrupted, but this time, it was very clear where the noise came from. Everyone in the room turned to look at the suitcase once-standing beside Tyki's bed. The suitcase was thrashing and moving by itself and a muffled voice could be heard from it. It finally topples over and lands with a _thud_ on the ground. Road, Tyki and the Earl just stared at the suitcase in shocked silence.

"What the—" Tyki starts.

"Let me out, let me out!" the muffled voice coming from the suitcase was easier to decipher now and it was clearly shouting in frantic.

"Tyki—" Road begins with hesitation, but Tyki already rushed over to the suitcase and started to unzip it.

When Tyki opened the suitcase, there was white hair sticking out of the blanket and then suddenly, the head that belonged to the white hair pops out looking frantically around him and Tyki soon finds a pair of silver scared eyes staring at him. Tyki and everyone else was shocked.

"Tyki-pon... what have you been doing?" Even the Earl was surprised, and he rarely shows such emotions.

"Uh..." Tyki himself was at a loss for words. He was staring at the white-haired kid who was now looking at his surroundings with curiosity.

Suddenly, a shrill of joy was heard and every head in the room turns to look at Road who was now running towards the kid with happiness on every inch of her face. When she reached the kid, she starts hugging him with such affection that Tyki could do nothing but stare with a slightly open mouth. As far as Tyki knows, Road rarely hugged just anyone like that, and now she's hugging a human kid that she just met in such an affectionate way? '_This world has gone mad_,' Tyki thought.

The kid was at first surprised, but soon his expression turned into one of enjoyment and happiness.

"You are a boy, right~?" Road asks still hugging the kid.

"Yeah," The boy answered with a nod.

Then the boy's eyes widen in shock when he sees the Earl and whispers, "It's you..."

Road and Tyki turn around to look at the Earl, who suddenly had a look of recognition on his face. "It's you...boy."

Clearly, they somehow knew each other, but Tyki had a hard time understanding how. '_WAIT... could it be?' _Tyki thought.

* * *

_**Hey it's me again... :) well. How do you like this story so far? and yes.. the Earl is actually gonna be pretty nice in this story.. well at least to his family. :) I really believe that the Noahs are really close with each other and would almost NEVER betray each other. This story IS going to have OCC-ness, and it's how I visualize what Allen and the rest of the characters would be like if they were living in this 'alternate universe' of mine. I am not sure whether the story is gonna follow the anime & manga later on or not, but... it's gonna sorta follow it, i guess.**_

_**~Zen**_


	2. Chapter 02: The Newcomer

_**A/N: I must thank Mystjerne, ErzaScarlet14, Gothicgirl12, Panda-Hiroko and The White Wanderer for the reviews! You guys are SUPER awesome! Remember that~ :) If you are reading this now, thanks so much! It's thanks to you guys that I decided to post the next chapter up so quickly~! And thanks for the favorites and the story alert. :)**_

**_Anyways... this chapter was actually only about 2,060 words... sorry~ didn't realize that. :) I think the next one is like 3,000 tho... not sure... but anyways! I hope you will enjoy reading this! ENJOY~~_**

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**Chapter 02: The Newcomer**

"Yup, I think you are right on the mark, Tyki~" Road commented with a smile making Tyki turn back around to look at her. Road has always been able read minds and send telepathic messages even though she was just the Noah of Dreams.

"Earl? Is this the boy that you were starting to tell us about?" Tyki asked looking at the Earl now.

"Yes… Tyki-pon… But… why is he in your suitcase?" the Earl questioned with a tilted head facing Tyki, and added, "Have you been kidnapping lately as well?"

"Uh… I don't― wait a minute…kidnap? NO! Of course not!" Tyki exclaimed with shock.

"Eh~ Even if you did kidnap him, you did the right thing. He's so adorable~!" Road purred.

"Road!" Tyki suddenly looked at Road with shock.

Ignoring Tyki, Road turned towards the Earl, "Do you know what his name is, Earl~?

"It's―" the Earl started.

"My name is Allen Walker and I am right here." A voice with slight annoyance replied coming from Road's direction. All the heads in the room turned to look at the boy.

"―Allen," the Earl finished.

"So cute~" Road continued to hug the boy some more.

"Road… I think you should stop…" Tyki recommended looking at the boy in Road's arms and Road.

"Road… so that's your name?" Allen asked with a curious tone making everyone snap their attention towards him once again.

A few seconds of silence passed by before the Earl snapped out of his astonishment and said, "Yes. I think we should introduce ourselves. I am the Millennium Earl as you already know it. But you can just call me Earl or Sennenko."

"And I am Road Kamelot," Road introduced almost immediately after the Earl stopped. "That man over there is my uncle, Tyki Mikk," Road said gesturing over at Tyki.

"Road, I think I can introduce myself…" Tyki said looking at Road with annoyance.

Sticking her tongue at him, she began, "Well―"

"So it's Earl, Road, and Tyki?" Allen interrupted looking at each of them as he said their name.

"Aw. You say our names so adorably~! Road exclaimed. Then she suddenly looks at Tyki with a sharp look when a question pops up in Tyki's head.

"Stop going into my head!" snapped Tyki. Then regaining his calm, he looks at the Earl and asks, "What are we going to do with him?"

* * *

A man with shoulder-length red spikyish-looking hair and a black hat on his head walked towards the cemetery holding a wine glass that is half-way filled with wine. Supposedly, he was to pick up a certain white-haired boy, but he got held back by his bill collectors and women that were trying to get another taste of him. By the time he got out of that mess, it was already 9:30pm and he was about an hour late to the designated time. He was told to go the cemetery at 8:30pm via the golden golem that was flying beside him. (The golem was not originally his and its original owner had somehow managed to send his message to the man via the golem.)

When the man reached the cemetery, there was not a single soul in sight. A low mist hung around and the full moon was shining bright, casting a strip of light on a certain grave. The man walked towards that grave and on the gravestone, the name "Mana Walker" stood boldly on it. Still, there was no boy in sight.

"Crap," the man muttered and took a sip of his wine. "I was too late. Now what am I going to do?"

The golden golem flew in circles around the man's head before landing on top of the stone. Then it opened its mouth and a voice belonging to the golem's original owner started flowing out.

"_Cross, you were too late, as you have probably realized. His innocence activated and killed the akuma Mana. I myself have no clue where he is, or else I would have told you. I must stay with Mana a little more while before I am allowed to leave. But by then, I probably won't be able to contact you anymore, seeing as how I will be in a deep slumber until it's time. Try to find the boy and keep him safe, would you? Timcampy might be able to help you, who knows. See you later."_

"Ugh. More work," the man named Cross muttered and he began to walk away rustling his hair a little. "How am I suppose to find ten-year-old boy? He could be anywhere. Timcampy! You coming or not?"

At the mention of his name, Timcampy flew up from his spot on the stone towards Cross. It lands on Cross's shoulders and settles itself on it.

"Tim, do you know a way to locate this boy?" Cross asks the golem on his shoulder and takes another sip of his wine. (The only way for others to understand Tim is for that person to be Tim's current master and right now, Cross is.) Tim seems to be saying "I don't know" and Cross can only sigh. Cross wanders out of the cemetery and heads towards town.

* * *

The Earl looks at the three of them and began, "Well first, we should know a little more about this boy before I decide…"

"Alright," Tyki nodded and then turning towards Allen, he asked gently, "Can you tell us a little about yourself?"

Allen looked startled and said, "Well…"

"Allen, we aren't going to hurt you. Please tell us," Road said in a kind tone. Allen looks up at her and then looks down.

"…"

"Allen…"

"Alright… I will… just a little though, okay?" Allen finally replies. It wasn't that he was trying to hide his past or anything, he was just not brave enough to go through his memories.

"Mana, my foster father, just died protecting me from an oncoming carriage that was going r-really really fast. By the time people got him to the hospital…. H-he w-was already…already... already dead." Allen explained in a monotone that started to crack with sadness as it went on. Road only hugged the boy tighter and her eyes had tints of sadness in it. Road whispered, "It's alright, boy. It's okay now."

"So I was crying at Mana's grave when suddenly, the Earl appeared out of nowhere and asked me if I wanted to bring Mana back to life, and I said y-yes." The boy continued. Tyki looked at the Earl, he didn't know whether or not he was angry at the Earl for that, for making the boy go through even more.

_Tyki… the Earl was just doing his job._ Road's voice appeared in Tyki's head making Tyki look at Road who was now watching him with gentle eyes.

_I know,_ Tyki thought. He knew that was the Earl's job, but he couldn't help how he felt.

_I understand what you are saying, but don't blame the Earl, okay?_ Road requested.

_Alright, I wasn't going to anyways._ Tyki replied truthfully.

Allen's voice starting once again ended the brief telepathic exchange between the two.

"I was so happy when Mana seemed to come back to life, but then I discovered my mistake. I-I h-had turned Mana into an akuma, and he cursed me for it," Allen's right hand reached up to touch his red mark over his left eye, "Mana told me he lo-loved me before his hands flew up as if it was about to attack me and when it went down, my left hand shone and it met with Mana's. Mana fell back and turned into a c-completely different person. He was about to attack me again when suddenly my arm p-pierced through Mana on its own. Then M-Ma-Mana shattered into dust after telling me to li-live on." The boy then broke down and started sobbing endless tears while Road and Tyki were in shock.

_This boy has an Innocence... or else how could he still be alive,_ both Road and Tyki thought after they finished processing the information they just learned.

"Yes. This boy has an Innocence." The Earl answered their unspoken thoughts, startling both Road and Tyki.

"Y-you already knew?" Tyki asked the Earl. He was shocked, _the Earl kept the boy alive knowing he possesses an Innocence! Innocence were their enemies…_

"Of course. I was watching the whole thing in the shadows." The Earl replied. His reply made Allen look up with shock, "Y-you w-were?"

"I was." That was the Earl's only reply. A look of conflict flashed through Allen's eyes before it returned to sadness.

"Allen. It's not your fault. What happened to this guy, Mana, it's not your fault. Stop blaming yourself." Road spoke up for the first time since the story ended. Allen looked at her with shocked eyes.

"H-how d-did you know? And it _is_ my fault. If I had been… if I had been more careful, then…then―" Allen was interrupted when Road hugged Allen a little tighter and leaned on Allen's head with hers. Allen wasn't crying anymore, he just had a depressed look on his face.

"Allen… no one could have seen that―"

"Allen," the Earl interrupted, making others look at him, "Do you blame me for what happened?" He didn't have any expression on his face besides the grin he always wore.

"No." The boy replied. That simple answer surprised the others. They had thought he would, considering what he went through.

"Really?" The Earl questioned with uncertainty.

"It was my own decision, even if I do regret it, but it wasn't your fault." Allen replied without hesitation. It was the truth. He didn't blame anyone… but himself. To the others, the boy sounded very mature and wise, even though he had just been through so much. The Earl was speechless, most of the people that he met blamed him and hated him, but this boy here… he is special.

"Hey... Allen. Sorry to interrupt, but something about your story is bugging me," Tyki suddenly spoke out.

"What is it?" Allen asked looking at Tyki.

"Um… you don't have to tell me… but… you said Mana was your foster father right?" Tyki inquired. Allen's eyes and expression immediately darkened, he had a feeling where this was going. Road tensed at the sudden change in the boy's aura.

"Yes. He is." Allen replied in an emotionless voice, but his expression was telling a completely different story.

"Then what happened to your biological parents?" Tyki asked curiously and looked up to see Allen. Tyki was immediately frozen in shock, the expression on Allen's face was… indescribable. It had sheer terror and fright. Tyki then yelled, "AL―"

"What happened to my biological parents...?" A humorless dark chuckle came from Allen. "I am afraid I don't know myself. After they… they…" Allen stopped, unable to continue, then he seemed as if he wasn't there anymore. Well, his body was, but his mind seemed to be reliving something, something horrible.

The silence within the room seemed to stretch eternally, with everyone except Road (but no one had noticed) looking intently at the out-of-body Allen, no one dared to disturb him. He seemed so fragile at this moment, as if even the sound of a feather dropping on the ground can shatter his body and soul. The expressions and silent screams for help running across his face were almost unbearable to look at.

Then as suddenly as the memory began, it abruptly stopped shown by Allen's eyes focusing.

"HOW DARE THEY?" A murderous scream erupted from the girl who was still latching onto the boy, shocking everyone in the room. Then Road jumped from her position and in the blink of an eye, she was at the door about to leave. The aura that surrounded the girl was one of anger, pain and murderous intent.

"ROAD! What―" One look at the glare that the girl shot at Tyki silenced him and his heart seemed to have frozen.

* * *

_**HEY~ It's me again. :) So... what did Road see that made her become so... furious and murderous? well, You are going to find out in the next chapter! :) **_

_**This story is going to turn out to be a Yaoi story... so head back if you don't like Yaoi stories. well.. it might have some RoadxAllen-ness too. but... I am not sure yet.. it's prob gonna focus on the Poker Pair and have some one-sided Yullen. :) But the ENTIRE Noah family is going to be SUPER close, okay? **_

_**Thanks so much for reading this! Please REVIEW if you can! I love hearing from you guys! :)**_

**_~Zen_**


	3. Chapter 03: The Past

_**A/N: Special Thanks to: ErzaScarlet14, The White Wanderer, Gothicgirl12, Mystjerne and Anonymous~ And to everyone who either reviewed, favorited, and/or added my story to your story alert! If you did all three of those... you are AWESOME! :)**_

_**reply to Anonymous: **_Thanks so much! I am glad you love this! Here's the new chapter~ I will prob post the Chapter 4 later as well... It is like 2:09am right now... so I might post it around... 5pm? I am not sure though... so don't bet on it... :) It really just depends on the number of reviews I get. :) And I am going to have some AllenxRoad in my story... but that might not be the focus... is that okay? I am not sure yet... :) you don't mind if this story turns a little yaoi, do you? *crossing my fingers* Hope you will continue to read the upcoming chapters!

**_Oh ya, fyi to you guys, This story is not really focused on anyone's POV yet... well it's prob later going to focus on Allen's but not yet.. i think? I am not sure... I guess in a way, right now, this story has a lot of Tyki's side to it. XD love Tyki. :P hehe. anyways... :) This story is gonna be more like a third person POV that has like a god's view and can read into everyone's mind._**

**_Disclaimer... I guess... I wish I owned DGM, but that might be too much hard work... :P And If i did, Allen would have already switched sides and joined the Noahs. XD_**

**_ENJOY~ _**

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Past**

"DON'T GET IN MY WAY!" Road roared at Tyki and opened the doors, about to leave when she slammed into something or rather, someone. They landed with a loud _thud_ on the ground and protests were heard from the pile of dark-skinned figures.

"What the hell―" one began.

"―is wrong with you?" another finished.

"Get off―" the first one began.

"―of us!" the second one finished.

When Road finally got up, she brushed herself off with annoyance, but her dark aura has lessened to almost nothing. _That seemed to have woken her up_, Tyki thought.

"Yes, it did, Tyki." Road replied making Tyki's eyes narrow, he began, "Would you STOP tapping into my―"

But he was interrupted when Road shouted at the two figure standing in front of her, "What is wrong with you guys?"

"You were the one―" the left one begun.

"―who bumped into us!" the right one finished.

The left one had blond locks of hair with a stitched mouth while the right one had ink black hair with a maniacal grin.

"Shut up, twins. I am not in the mood." Road said with indifference, the twins could feel that something was wrong.

"What happened?" the twin with the black hair asked.

"Nothing you need―"Road began with a dark look on her face.

"Ro-Road?" a tiny and questioning voice came from behind the girl, "What's wrong?"

The twins' eyes followed the voice to its source, there, a white haired boy with a red scar running down his left eye sat with a confused look in the middle of a black suitcase with a blanket still wrapped around him. The boy looked so innocent and pure, the twins were a little shocked.

"Who is―" the black-haired one began.

"―this?" the golden-haired one finished.

"Allen, the golden-haired one is named Jasdero and the black-haired one is named Debitto. Or you can referred to both of them by Jasdevi, they are twins," Tyki introduced gesturing towards the twins. Jasdevi completely missed the sight of the Earl and Tyki standing in the room as well, and when they heard Tyki's voice, they were snapped out of the hypnotizing sight of Allen.

"Jasdevi? Twins? But they don't know identical…" Allen questioned with curiosity, all traces of his previous trance gone.

"Yes, that's true, but they are still twins… somehow," replied Tyki with agreement. He himself had always thought that the twins didn't look like twins. They only acted like twins.

"Who is this boy," Debitto asked Tyki, who was watching the boy with… _wait,_ could that possibly be _affection_? Debitto was bewildered, this was Tyki they were talking about. He sometimes couldn't even stand his own family, but he was showing this boy affection?

"His name is Allen Walker," Road replied even though the question wasn't for her. The twins looked at her, remembering Road's crash with them just a moment ago.

"But why is he here?" Debitto asked. _This is a human kid we are talking about and the Earl isn't even showing the slightest signs of disapproval_, Debitto thought in his head.

"We will tell you the details later, go back for now." Tyki told them with indifference, but there was a hint of an order in his tone.

"But―"Jasdero and Debitto both begun to protest when interrupted by a clearing-of-throat sound.

"Jasdevi. Leave please." The Earl ordered. The twins didn't dare to disobey the Earl, he was their 'boss', as they would like to call him, but he kept on insisting them to call him by a more warm name, like how Road calls him Millennie.

"Hai, boss," Jasdevi replied and they quickly disappeared.

Road slowly turned back around and walked towards Allen with a gentle smile. "Allen, maybe you should rest a little? We can get a room ready for you and some food if you are hungry," Road offered. Allen's eyes immediately sparkled at the mention of food.

"I would love for some food! And it's really alright if I rest in this house?" Allen replied with a shy smile.

"Of course!" This time, it was the Earl who spoke out. He clearly looked happy that the boy was going to stay for a little longer. _Maybe it is possible that the boy will stay with us,_ Tyki thought quietly in his head.

Allen's smile turned into one of excitement and happiness and Road approached him with a hand out. Allen wasted no time to take her hand and she led him to the dining room with Tyki and the Earl following them. _It seems Road had already ordered the preparation of everything in her head_, Tyki thought. Because when they entered the dining room, the table was filled with food already. Allen's eyes widened as he took in the sight of all the tasty-looking food in front of him.

"Go on." Road pushed the boy forward a little and he was already in a seat in the blink of an eye. Then without further ado, the boy chomped down the entire table of food within a few minutes, shocking everyone that was watching.

Only one thought ran through their minds, _how can such a little boy fit all that food into him._ When Allen realized that they were watching him, he grinned sheepishly at them with his hands on his now-full stomach.

"Eeee! You are so adorable, Allen~!" Road exclaimed as she rushed towards the boy and hugged him to death making Tyki sweat-dropped. Glad that they didn't view him as a freak, Allen exhaled a sigh of relief.

"Allen~, let's bring you to your room. I prepared it just for you~!" Road said with excitement as she pulled the boy with her after he got off the chair. Tyki and the Earl followed like shadows and Road had led them to a room that was near hers. She pushed opened the door dramatically and pushed the boy into his new room.

The wall was covered with wallpaper that looked like the night sky with stars shining, the ceiling was also covered with shining stars, but had a full moon as well. The floor was covered in fluffy white carpet and a comfortable looking canopy bed that was the color of purple with threads of gold sat against the left side of the room's walls. There was two doors that were the colored black and one on the right side of the room while the other was on the left.

Allen's eyes widened in amazement and Road added quickly, "It's not everything yet, we will get more stuff in here soon, but until then, please bear with it."

"This…this is amazing!" A happy and excite smile spread through Allen's face relieving the hearts of those that were expecting his reaction. He ran across the room and jumped onto the bed snuggling against its comforters and pillows. "This is so soft and comfy!"

"I am so glad that you like it, Allen~!" Road said as she walked towards the bed as well.

"What is there to _not_ like? I love this! You are so awesome, Road! Thank you so much!" Allen exclaimed happily with a big smile on his face. Road was beaming with happiness at what the boy said, she was so glad.

Before Road can do or say anything more, Tyki said, "Allen, you should rest now. We will see you when you wake up." With that, he walked towards Road and dragged her, who was struggling, with him to the door.

"Tyki!" Road dismayed voice complained with a pout.

"Good night, Allen. Sweet dreams." Tyki told the boy as he left the room, still dragging Road, along with the Millennium Earl closing the doors behind them.

"See you." The boy replied before settling himself on the bed and drifted off to sleep almost immediately. Hearing the steadying and slowing of breathing, Tyki and Road opened the door to Allen's room a little and peeked in.

"He looks so adorable and peaceful~!" Road whisper-squealed.

"Indeed he does. Now let's leave him before we wake him." Tyki said and closed the door quietly.

"Road, we need to discuss something." Tyki finally told what was weighing on his mind.

Road's expression darkened and replied, "Let's go back to your room, Tyki."

"I would like to listen as well," requested the Earl, whose voice surprised them since they thought he had left already.

"Of course, Millennie." Road replied as they headed towards Tyki's room once again.

**~skip~**

Road settled herself onto Tyki's bed and wrapped her hands around her legs that were in front of her chest. She started rocking herself back and forth before finally beginning the story that Tyki had requested. "What had happened to Allen's biological parents?" Tyki had asked once they got in, getting straight to the point. When Road growled that they were not parents, but demons, Tyki asked her to tell them the full story.

Road went into a trance as she started reliving the memory, Allen's memory. Her voice explaining steadily what had happened.

**~Allen's memory~**

Allen had been born with a deformed left hand and white-colored hair causing his fellow town-people to accuse him of being a demon many times. Because of that, whenever something that couldn't be explained happened, they said it was his doing. Whenever they saw him, they would stop whatever they were doing and sometimes started talking about him. Some threw pitying glances at him as he walked on, but he didn't want that. In fact, he hated it. He didn't want pitying, he only wanted acceptance. Even his own parents didn't accept him, his parents never paid any attention to him, only talking to him when necessary and feeding him when they remember. His mother would often break into tears whenever she sees that deformed arm of his, she often asked herself, _"Why me, what have I done wrong to deserve this?"_ But never once, did she pity the child, she only pitied herself and looked at him with malice, blaming everything on the boy. So she ordered the boy to cover his left arm at all times, and Allen didn't dare to disobey her, afraid of what she would do if he didn't. Allen's father was always depicted by the townspeople as the kind, loving, patient and dashing man that everyone admired and respected, some even called him an angel. But even 'the angel' couldn't accept Allen and no one blamed him. Every now and then, he would half-protect his son from his wife's wrath, but other times, he would just turn a blind eye on the situation.

The boy was ordered to never leave the house since his parents didn't want others to see their 'demon' child, but when they had guests over or they didn't want him in the house, he would be kicked out and only allowed back in when his parents felt like it. So often times, he would have to stay outside for several days and be the talk of town. He often just survived in alleyways where he would eat the disgusting-looking creatures or anything he could find and then settled himself in a makeshift bed, since no one dared to step within five feet of him.

But everything got even worse when his grandmother on his father's side wanted to see him. His parents reluctantly brought him with them since it was the will of the grandmother who everyone in this town respected. "You better behave," his father had told him sternly as they left the house.

"Yes, father," replied Allen. _I was going to without being told anyways_, he thought to himself.

"_Don't _call me your father," the man growled.

"I understand." Allen obediently replied, but he was feeling even more rejected.

When they reached his grandma's house, she was already out there waiting for them. She had dark brown hair that was wrapped in a tight bun behind her head and her face was that of an wise, old elder that was in her fifties. She had warm brown eyes that could fill a snowman with warmth and was wearing an light grey Victorian dress gown with black ruffles. She was friendly and good looking with a warm and calming aura around her. Allen could tell that his father had inherited her brown eyes and dark brown hair.

"Mother," called out Allen's father, "You should have stayed inside!"

"But I was getting impatient, I am fine, dear," the grandmother replied with a gentle smile, then when she spotted the white-haired boy standing a little way behind Allen's mother, her smile widened even more, "And this must be Allen."

Allen was shocked at the gentle voice that called out his name, no one has ever done that. Allen looked up shyly with a warm smile. "Hello, grandmother."

"Please, call me Sylvia. Don't be so formal," Sylvia scolded lightly with a warm, genuine smile on her face. "Come on in."

"Alright, mother," Allen's father replied and gestured his family to go inside. His family did as they were told and they settled by the warm fire. Sylvia had told Allen to come and sit on her lap. Up close, Allen could see that Sylvia had on an silver metal chained necklace with a heart shaped charm hanging, "Sylvia" was carved on the charm diagonally in elegant font in the middle of the charm.

"Dear Allen, you are a grown boy," Sylvia exclaimed with happiness. "You were so little the last time I saw you! How have you been?"

"G-great." Allen lied with a small smile. He knew his parents wouldn't like it if he told her the truth.

"That's good. Henry dear, would you mind if Allen stays with me for a few days? I would love that." Sylvia requested looking at her son and daughter-in-law.

"Aria, would you mind?" Henry inquired his wife.

"If your mother doesn't mind him around…"Aria trailed off looking at her husband.

"Of course I don't," Sylvia replied, then looking at Allen lovingly, she said, "Then you will stay with me for a few days and it's final. Okay?"

"Alright, Sylvia." Allen replied with a smile. He has finally found someone who accepted him and loved him, he was in such joy.

"Then we will leave our boy with you." Aria finalized, and added, "We should take our leave, it's getting a little late, don't you agree, hon?"

"Yes, you are right. We will come back for Allen in a few days then. Bye, mother," Henry agreed and took his leave.

**~skip~**

It's been a few days already, and when Allen's parents came to pick him up, Sylvia told them that she liked the boy and would like Allen to stay for even longer. Of course, Allen's parents agreed immediately, they themselves had enjoyed the absence of their child. Allen was bewildered by the idea of being allowed to stay for a few more days, he took a great liking to Sylvia. Even after Sylvia saw his deformed left arm, she accepted the boy and treated him just like she always had. Well she was shocked when she first saw it, but she didn't press on.

Allen had helped around the house and Sylvia often told him stories of her younger days which Allen enjoyed a whole lot. Sylvia was a great story-teller, whenever she told her stories, Allen felt as if he was experiencing it himself, it was so much fun to him.

It was the middle of the night when a loud _bang_ woke Allen up. Allen sat up groggily and rubbed his eyes sleepily. When he realized what had woken him up, he was as awake as a tiger eyeing its prey. _Is Sylvia okay?_ Allen wondered with worry, he bolted out of his room and ran straight to his grandmother's room. But there was no one there, and then another _bang_ was heard. Allen could recognize it came from outside, so he ran down the stairs careful not to trip and he realized the front door was opened.

_Is it a burglar?_ Allen asked himself in his mind. Then he looked around, his eyes were adjusted to the dark room already, the house looked like it always did, clean and comfortable.

_Bang_. Allen's eyes darted sharply to the opened door and ran outside. No one really lived near Sylvia's place, the nearest neighbor was about a mile and a half away, as Allen had learned, but this was mainly because Sylvia liked to live in peace and quiet and the town respected her wishes.

He ran to the back of the house and there in front of him, Sylvia stood facing a weird looking machine with piles of dust surrounding them.

"SYLVIA!" Allen yelled and Sylvia turned to look with wild eyes. Allen was stunned, Sylvia looked as if she was still in her twenties and her usual dark brown hair was now golden brown and pulled up in a ponytail. She was wearing a white mid-sleeved blouse with a black vest on top and black skinny dress pants with slightly-below-the-knee-high black boots.

"Allen! GO back inside! I will be okay!" Sylvia shouted with fear passing her face. Then in the corner of her eyes, she saw the machine was flying towards her. She immediately jumped and landed gracefully with a back flip in mid-air next to Allen. Allen, of course, was shocked. His grandmother was acting as if it was nothing and it was like she was a different person.

"Come on Allen," Sylvia urged Allen and then eying the machine carefully, she realized it was too late. "Ugh. We don't have enough time… Allen, just stay back. I will take care of it."

"Sy-Sylvia… what's that?" Allen choked out as he stared with wide eyes at the machine and his grandmother.

"That's called an Akuma. It's a demon. And I am going to have to kill it." Sylvia explained briefly while watching the akuma carefully.

"W-why?" Allen looked shocked.

"Because I have something called Innocence and I was an exorcist for a brief time when I was young." Sylvia replied carefully, she didn't want to startle the boy too much.

"Innocence?" Allen asked.

"Yes. It's a weapon granted by god to destroy akumas and save them."

Then the akuma started charging at Sylvia and she didn't hesitate for a single moment. "STAY BACK!" she yelled before charging forward and started singing. It sounded like a lullaby and the akuma stopped in its track as if it was awed by Sylvia's voice. Sylvia jumped up and landed on the akuma's head petting it, as if it were a puppy falling asleep in her arms.

"You can rest now, akuma." Sylvia told the akuma gently when she stopped singing and just like that, the akuma dispersed into tiny flecks of sparkly dust.

_Thank you…_ a voice said carried by the sudden gentle gust of wind as Sylvia landed as graceful as a cat on the ground with a small gentle smile.

Then she began to walk slowly towards the shocked Allen who was staring with widened eyes. "Allen," Sylvia called out quietly when she reached the boy and kneeled down. She touched the boy's cheek gently and a tear landed on her fingers, then tears began making its way down and Sylvia just hugged the boy.

"Sylvia…Sylvia! You are okay! I was afraid… afraid of you disappearing…" the boy sobbed into the shoulders of his grandmother.

"It's alright Allen, I promised you I will be okay, didn't I? I am sorry you had to witness that." Sylvia replied gently petting the boy's hair. The boy soon calmed down, but stayed in Sylvia's arms.

"Allen, let's go back inside. It's warmer in there." Sylvia said and gently stood up, careful not to startle the boy, who was still in her arms. When they were inside, Sylvia locked the door and placed Allen carefully on her sofa.

"Would you like something warm to drink?" Sylvia asked as she lit a candle. The boy just nodded and stared at nothing.

"Alright" Sylvia said as she headed into the kitchen. When she came back, she had two cups of hot chocolate in her hands and placed one into Allen's hands. She sat on her usual rocking chair and slowly sipped the hot chocolate.

"What just happened?" Allen slowly asked as he looked up at his grandmother.

* * *

_**Thanks everyone! I hope you enjoyed Chapter 3~! This was like 3,240 words. XD hehe. Last chapter, I did sort of promise that the upcoming chapter would be around 3,000 words, didn't I? :) well. I fulfilled my promise~ I hope you enjoyed reading this~ This chapter is sort of sad, I guess... At least there is Sylvia~ who is, I guess an OC of mine... like the rest of Allen's family... I guess i will have OCs. :) If I have anymore OCs... they will prob be boys... :P I have some names that some of the reviewers offered and I like those names... so.. I am sort of planning to use those. :)**_

_**Oh yeah starting now... I am going to have a section in my profile page where I am going to include the description of and link to the outfits that some of the characters in my fic are going to wear. Why? Because I am not good at describing characters' appearances and especially their outfits! hehe. And I want you guys to understand it better, so I figure... pictures are easier to get than words... :) **_

_**Oh and yes, Allen is going to be BORN with white-hair. :) A lot of fics I read had Allen as a brown-haired child before Mana's incident... and the Canon (original) story had Allen as a brown-haired child when he was young. But in my story... he is going to be BORN with white hair. Just something I wanted to clarify. It has something to do with this thing I had in mind.**_

_**oh yeah, just a heads up... the next chapter is going to be... pretty sad... i guess. Once you see the next chapter's name... and you finished reading the chapter.. you will prob get where the name came from. :) **_

_**remember... please REVIEW... if you can. :)**_

_**~Zen**_


	4. Chapter 04: The Punished

**_A/N: Yay it's the fourth chapter! :) Special Thanks to: ErzaScarlet14, p3paula, Anonymous, The White Wanderer, Gothicgirl12, Panda-Hiroko, and Sachiel Angelo! I love you guys~! you are SO awesome! :) I will also thank EVERYONE who reviewed, favorited and/or put this story on story alert! You guys are SUPER awesome. ;)_**

**_Anyways~ Thanks for your support~ This entire chapter is Allen's past... btw. :) _**

**_WARNING: mention of violence... and this chapter is more sad than the last chapter (in my opinion) I think it might be the saddest thing I have ever written... yet. And even I got a little emotional when I was writing this... _**

**_DISCLAIMER: Yeah... i wish i owned DGM... okay? :) Allen would have joined the Noahs a while ago already. :)_**

**_and '_****~skip~' means either a time change or scene change... :) and you have probably realized that **_text like this** means that it's like someone's thoughts and usually I am pretty clear on whose thoughts it is.. and usually you can judge whose thoughts it is by the thought's context. :)**_

* * *

**Chapter 04: The Punished**

* * *

"Allen… Alright. I will tell you the truth. As I said before, I was an exorcist for a brief time before I married and decided I was sick of that life. You know how I love peace and quiet. So I disappeared from the records and changed my looks a little with the help of a friend of mine. Then I ran away with my husband to this town and lived here ever since. My husband… your grandfather, he died of a disease when your father, Henry, was about 15 or 16. Every now and then, those machines you just saw, akumas, they appear. And so to protect this town and my family, I would activate my Innocence and destroy the akumas. My Innocence is my voice. It can have an effect on akumas and sometimes human and they can listen to what I tell them. Singing a lullaby and such calms the akuma down and petting helps the effect of my voice. Then the soul of the akuma is relieved and they can go to wherever they are suppose to go." Sylvia explained slowly. When she finished, she was met by silence and so she glanced at the boy. The boy was listening carefully and seemed to be in deep thoughts.

"Sylvia… how long have you been doing this? Do the town people know?" Allen asked.

"I have been doing this... for a long time. And no, they don't know. It's better for them that they don't," Sylvia replied.

"I see… how come your appearance changed as well?"

"It's just an effect of my Innocence. It's easier to move around in when I am in this form anyways." Sylvia said with a smile.

"Is that why you are such a good story-teller?" Allen asked and looked up with a smile.

"Probably. I would say so." Sylvia answered with a chuckle.

"Are akumas going to keep coming?" Allen asked as he set down his cup. He had finished all of his hot chocolate during Sylvia's story.

"It's possible. I am going to clean up now. Would you like more?" Sylvia said as she stood up and went over to pick up Allen's cup.

"No thanks."

"Alright, I will be right back." Sylvia headed into the kitchen once again leaving Allen in his own thoughts.

When Sylvia came back, Allen was already asleep on the couch and she smiled warmly at his sleeping face. Sylvia picked Allen up and brought him back to his room and settled him in his bed.

Then she leaned down and kissed the boy's forehead. "You have been through a lot tonight."

"Innocence deactivate." With that, Sylvia turned back into her original look and went back to her room to have her sleep as well.

* * *

Allen was racing through the trees in a panic, running back towards his grandmother's house. He had dealt with what Sylvia told him easier than Sylvia thought he would. Since the truth is already out, Sylvia would sometimes slip stories of her time as an exorcist when she was telling Allen stories.

"SYLVIA!" Allen screamed as he neared his grandmother's house. But what he saw made him freeze like ice.

There was Sylvia, in her Innocence form and several akumas surrounding her. There were also a few people in black clothing with a weird symbol on it. The ground was covered in blood, akuma blood or human blood, he didn't know. Sylvia and the people were fighting against the akumas with bitterness, he could tell they were having a hard time.

"Allen! Be careful!" Sylvia screamed as she continued fighting two akumas. Her words woke Allen up.

"There's still a few more coming!" Allen yelled. He was in town shopping for his grandmother when he noticed a few shapes and shadows hovering above town, then he ran straight back to his grandmother's house to notice her of his findings, but it seems they are being assaulted and are surrounded.

"Shit. What are we going to do?" one of the people muttered when he heard the news.

"We will just have to deal with these first, Sol," a woman replied back, who was fighting several akumas with a monkey on her.

"Alright, General Nyne." Sol, replied.

"Lau Shimin!" General Nyne shouts. The monkey jumps of her back and transforms into a monster. Lau Shimin starts forming balls of energy in its fists and throws it at akumas, destroying a large amount of akuma.

"Ugh! They never seem to stop coming!" A voice coming from another woman that was fighting was heard.

"Do your best, Tina!" General Nyne responded as she battles alongside her monkey.

"ALLEN! WATCH OUT!" Sylvia screams as she sprints towards Allen. Allen startled, looks around him, discovers the group of akumas that he saw in town was right behind him and lets out a startled scream. He then watches the akumas carefully and when the akumas zoom past him, he relaxes slightly.

"ALLEN!" Sylvia shouted once again. Allen turn back around, facing the battle, and sees a ball of light coming towards him, he was frozen at the sight. Then suddenly he was knocked off his feet and lands a foot or so away from where he was, he thought it was the ball of light that hit him. He was wrong….

Hearing gasps of breathing, Allen opens his eyes and stood up carefully looking at his surroundings, trying to locate the source of the sound.

"SYLVIA!" Allen rushes towards his grandmother who was now lying on the ground gasping for air. He lifts up her shoulders with his arm and starts crying.

"NO… please don't go! Sylvia… it's all my fault. Why? Why?" Allen sobbed as he looks at his grandmother's body. She was bleeding a lot and there were hexagons that were starting to form but they disappeared quickly.

"A-Allen. It's alright. Don't…don't cry. You will b-be okay." Sylvia soothes her beloved grandson with a smile on her face.

"No. I won't! You were the only one who…who ever accepted me…" Allen sobbed as his heart starts aching with an emotional pain.

"Allen… don't cry. I want to see your smile again." Sylvia smiled sadly, she knew something was wrong with Allen. _So it was all just a mask…_ she thought to herself sadly, she now wishes she had taught her son better…

Allen realizes what he had told her and wipes his tears away with the sleeve on his right hand. He musters up his strength and a smile starts forming on his face. "Alright, Sylvia."

Seeing how much Allen cares about her and his smile, Sylvia smiles as well and decides to make her final wish come true. Mustering all her strength, a pile of glowing green dust formed in a pile on the palm of her right hand, she then pulled out a locket with her left hand and lifting her right hand, she carefully poured the dust into a compartment within the locket and shuts the compartment tight.

"Sylvia…? What are you doing?" Allen asks as he watches his grandmother.

"Allen… this locket… keep it with you… keep it on you. I will always be with you. Remember that. I love you, Allen. You were the best thing god could ever give me." Sylvia said as she placed the locket in Allen's hand and a gentle and warm smile spreads across her face. Just like the smile she had the first time she saw him during his visit.

"Sylvia….? I love you too. You were the only joy I ever had…" Allen replied as he held the locket tight in his hands. Tears start making its way out of his eyes.

"Goodbye, m-my dear Allen… I-I will always b-be with yo-you…." Sylvia said and then signs of life started leaving her body.

"SYLVIA!" Allen cried out in anguish. Tears poured out of his eyes, he knew she was gone… he could feel it. Her lifeless body lied in his hands as he regretted and thought of the time he had with her. It was short but it was the best time he had in his life.

"Boy… are you okay?" A female voice asked worriedly. Allen looked up and through his water-filled eyes, he could see a woman looking down at him. He used his sleeve to wipe of his tears away in order to see more clearly. The woman had dark blond hair with bangs that covered her left eye and part of her face, she had a mostly white-colored monkey on her shoulder and was wearing a sleeveless black and gold uniform.

"Who are you?" Allen asked.

"My name is Klaud Nyne. I am an exorcist. I am very sorry for her death." Klaud Nyne introduced, he looked startled when he heard the word 'exorcist'.

"Exorcist…" Allen muttered with sadness.

"What's your name boy?"

"Allen. Allen Anglisio."

"I see, Allen. Can you tell us more about her?" Klaud Nyne asked as she looked over at the lifeless woman who was helping them and had Innocence within her.

"…"

"Please tell me."

"But…" Allen hesitated. He was unsure… his grandmother was running away from the Order, what would happen if they were to find out she was still alive?

"Please, Allen. I would like to know. Why are you hesitating?" Klaud Nyne asked gently. There was something, something that doesn't want to be known. "What's her name? And who is she to you?"

"She's my grandmother." Allen replied only answering part of her questions.

"What's her name?"

"Sy…Syl… wait. Why? Are you going to start telling people?" Allen asked as he watched Klaud Nyne carefully.

"I am curious. I am not going to… that's not my intention. It's just… she has Innocence, and a powerful one." Klaud Nyne honestly replied.

"Powerful?" Allen was slightly shocked at this thought.

"Yes."

"Alright."

"Her name is Sylvia―" Allen started.

"WAIT. You can't mean… she is.. she is…." Klaud Nyne looked shocked.

"…what?"

"Sylvia… Sylvia.. she can't possibly be…" Klaud Nyne muttered, but she seems to be talking to herself rather than Allen.

"What's the matter?" Allen asked, shocked by Klaud Nyne's behavior.

"Was she a former exorcist?"

"Yes."

"What else do you know?"

"…"

"How could I not have noticed!" Klaud Nyne nearly shouted.

"What? Tell me!"

"You grandmother… she… she was my mentor when I was still new to the Order." Klaud Nyne replied.

"Wh-What?" Allen choked out.

"And she was a great exorcist. She was a General… which means her synchronization rate with her Innocence exceeded 100%" Klaud Nyne explained.

"WHAT?" Allen was shocked. Sylvia never told him that.

"But then… she suddenly disappeared, and many people set off to find her and I was one of those people… but no traces of her were found… Of course she couldn't be found. I can't believe I finally see her again… but now… she's… gone. I didn't even have a chance to talk to her again…" Klaud Nyne drifted off.

"Didn't you talk to her when you guys first met and fought together?" Allen questioned.

"Not really. My unit and I charged right into battle once we saw the akumas."

"I see… Can you―"

"ALLEN!" A voice roared. Allen froze. He knew who this was. And he didn't want to face him. Klaud Nyne looked up, startled, and then looked at Allen, who had an expression of fear and terror.

"Excuse me, mister. May I ask who you are?" Klaud Nyne asked as she approached the man and his group of man behind him slowly. The man looked startled when he saw her, he had only saw the white-haired boy with the man's mother, lying in his hands, and blood on the boy and her. (Klaud's Unit had already cleaned up the place quite a bit and was coming up to them, startled by the crowd.)

"Oh. I beg your pardon, Miss. My name is Henry Anglisio, and over there, the white-haired boy, is my son. And who may you me?" Henry introduced like a gentleman.

"My name is Klaud Nyne and I am from the Black Order," Klaud Nyne introduced. Then she realized what this must look like to the man, and wanted to start to explain, but when then she saw his eyes narrow. '_He seems to know something…'_ Klaud thought.

"I see. Well, I must take my son home now. But may I first ask what had happened?" Henry said as he glanced over at the boy, he already had a clue what had happened to his mother… His mother had told him a little about her and father's past, but the town must not know that.

"Well you see… A prisoner of ours had gotten away and we finally caught up to him. But then, when we reached here, your mother was lying on the prisoner's body with the prisoner unconscious. We have already had teams to retrieve the prisoner and we cleaned up a little, I hope you don't mind our actions," Klaud Nyne lied smoothly shocking Henry, but the townspeople behind him seems to accept this explanation easily and that was all that mattered. '_On the other hand… Allen was going to be in a little bit of trouble…' _Henry smiled, a dark and cruel smile, but Klaud Nyne saw it, even though it was just for a second or two, and she narrowed her eyes. '_Something's not right here_,' she thought.

"Allen… we should get home and let the townspeople take care of your grandmother," Henry said in a gentle voice. His expression had changed into that of a kind father.

"But…"

"Allen… let's get home." Henry repeated, and this time there was a bit of a commanding tone in his words.

"Al-alright, father." Allen finally agreed, after all, this was what was going to eventually happen. He gently laid his grandmother on the ground and secretly hid the precious locket in his boots.

"Bye, Miss. Hope I will get to talk to you again… but… it's unlikely…" Allen whispered quietly so that only Klaud Nyne could hear when he passed by her. Klaud Nyne widened her eyes, _what was going to happen to this boy?_

"Father." Allen greeted when he reached the man.

"Let's get home." Henry said and with that, he left with the boy tagging along and the rest of the townspeople made way for them with their eyes watching the boy cautiously.

When the pair had left, Klaud Nyne greeted the townspeople and talked to them for a while. Every now and then, she slipped a question about the boy in, and the answers only made her worry more.

* * *

When Allen and his father got back to the house, his father was furious, and his mother was once again crying and sobbing. Then his father told Allen to go down to the basement and take off his shirt and roll up his pants, and Allen couldn't help but feel scared, but he did what he was told. Henry came into the basement with a whip and a belt, and locked the boy's hands, each hand in the metal handle that was attached to the wall on both side of him. When Allen was securely in place, Henry started whipping at the boy, on his front upper body and on his legs, while the boy screamed in agony and closed his eyes, blood was dripping off of the boy. The boy then was turned around, and with his belt, the boy's father started slashing the belt on Allen as hard as he could. Soon, the boy was losing his consciousness fast, and he passed out. Even so, Henry continued whipping the boy until he was satisfied. He unlocked the handles but just let the boy fell with a _thud_ on the ground landing with his face to the ground and left him there, cold and in pain, while he walked out of the basement with a laugh that could make one's heart freeze, locking the door behind him.

* * *

"Allen… Allen… are…are you okay?" A voice that was gentle and familiar woke Allen up. When Allen regained his consciousness, the first thing that overcame him was pain and coldness.

He started whimpering in pain as he tried to move his body, but he found he didn't have the slightest ability to move his body, except for his head (which his father was sane enough to not hurt on purpose).

"Allen." The voice called out once again. Allen turned his head a little and saw that his mother was looking at him with worry. Allen was surprised and astonished, his mother never seemed to care about him.

"M-mother." Allen whispered in a barely audible volume. He found that he was also very thirsty and hungry.

"Allen here… I have some soup… You father's out dealing with your grandmother's funeral… " Then Allen understood, his mother… she… she actually cared about him… even if it's just a little, and the only reason she can even be here is because his father is out. Inside, he chuckled humorlessly, _how ironic… it's as if they are playing a reverse role now…_ Allen thought to himself.

"Th-thank y-you." Allen said gratefully as his mother started feeding him carefully.

It took a week for him to even begin moving his limbs and another week to start walking, or limping. But that whole time, he was locked in the basement. His grandmother's funeral had passed by and he didn't even get to be there. Every now and then, his mother would come down to give him some soup, but that was the only thing he had… excluding the rodents that he caught every now and then. His father never came down once to see him and one time, Henry caught his wife coming up the stairs from the basement and scolded her. Allen heard her mother scream in agony once or twice, and the next time she came down, she had a bruise on her face and she was limping a little. She told him she slipped and fell, that's all.

When Allen was able to walk around without pain tracking every single one of his movement, he was able to sneak out of the basement a couple times to get food. But other than that, he didn't get to see the outside world, except for the window that could barely fit him at the high corner of the basement.

One night, Allen suddenly woke up and could smell smoke in the air. He saw a light a distance away in front of him and he then realized….

"FIRE!" He screamed and started choking due to the inhaling of the smoke. The fire was in front of the basement door, which meant his only way out was the window. Allen scrambled onto the stone walls of the basement, but his body was still hurting quite a bit and he struggled to climb up. Suddenly he felt a rush a strength running through his body as the fire was inching closer and closer to him. He finally got the window out and escaped just in time before the fire reached him.

He was panting and muttered a small thanks to wherever the strength came from. Then he stood up and walked to the front of the house, and saw neighbors watching in horror as Allen's home was engulfed by the fire. Then suddenly a shape emerges out of the fire and it was Allen's parents.

"Mother! Father!" Allen shouted as he went to the two figures. His parents eyes widened in surprise when they see him and then his father starts muttering curse at him quietly before losing consciousness.

"Father!" Allen yelled.

"Get away from him, you devil." His mother suddenly whispers in hostility, Allen stared in shock as he began processing his mother's sudden change in behavior.

"Mot―" Allen began

"Don't call me your mother. I am not your mother!" Allen's mother spitted out with spite. Then the neighbors start rushing towards her pushing Allen farther and farther away.

That was the last time he saw his father or heard him. When he later went to the hospital, his mother shut him out before he could enter and in her hands was a fruit knife. Saying it was his fault that his father was in a coma, she pulled back her arm and stabbed Allen, aiming for his heart, but Allen dodges just in time. The knife entered his body, but it was on his side. Doctors and nurses come rushing to help him, but he had lost consciousness already.

Unknown to them, Klaud Nyne was watching in horror. She couldn't shake off her worries, so after she went the headquarters and reported as she had planned to do, but she returned to the town a week later. She had been watching Allen's house in the shadows for a while, but for a long time, she didn't see the boy come out or in. She was just about to give up when a fire started in the house and she sees Allen escape out of a window. She followed Allen all the way to the hospital and was just shocked at what she witnessed. She hoped Allen was okay…

* * *

Allen woke up a few days later, and when he finally got the doctor's permission to leave, he did the procedures and the nurses told him that somebody already paid his bills for him. He asked who, but they wouldn't tell him anything. When he got back to the house, all he saw was… nothing. There wasn't a house anymore and there was nothing there but space. The neighbors noticed the boy and started coming out of their houses, walking towards him.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" voices angrily yelled behind Allen, making him turn around. What he saw was an angry mob that wanted a slice of him. They charged at him, shredding his clothes and beating him up, reopening his wound on his side and many gashes he still had from his father. Even when he screams in agony, they didn't stop. They then carried him to the town's entrance and practically threw him out, warning him to never come back.

Klaud Nyne once again gasped in horror as she saw the treatment the boy got. She was going to help him but a golem with a message flew towards her, informing her of a mission from headquarters. By the time she was finished, the boy was already half-dead and soaked in blood. She ran up to the boy and held him in her hands.

"Allen…Allen…? You holding up?" Klaud Nyne asked gently shaking the boy lightly.

Allen opened his eyes and he whispers, "It's you…"

And then he passes out.

* * *

**_Okay... so how was this chapter? agree with me on how it's sad? You probably understand why Road got so angry now? Even Klaud Nyne couldn't believe the treatment Allen got. _**

**_Well this chapter was actually pretty long. :) about 4,050 words. how do you like that? well.. just saying though, not every chapter is going to be this long... :) _**

**_Allen's father's full name is Henry Anglisio... I just thought of that last name randomly and I took a liking to it... :P Allen's last name is also Anglisio for now... until he meets Mana._**

**_I do feel bad for Allen though... and I like Klaud Nyne... so she's going to have some role in my story... and you know those exorcists that were with Klaud? They are actual characters in the anime/manga. :) It's just that they were killed by Tyki... after Suman sold the Order's info in exchange for his life. Tina and Sol are from Klaud's search team... so I take it they probably apprenticed under Klaud. :)_**

**_NEW: For people who didn't read my edited version of chapter 3 (I just added some description of Sylvia's original and Innocence form, like how she looked and her clothes.), ___****I am going to have a section in my profile page where I am going to include the description of and link to the outfits that some of the characters in my fic are going to wear. Why? Because I am not good at describing characters' appearances and especially their outfits! hehe. And I want you guys to understand it better, so I figure... pictures are easier to get than words... :)**

**____****BTW, Sylvia has mid-back-length dark brown hair with warm brown eyes and she emits a peaceful and calming aura. :) When she is in her Innocence form, her hair is pulled into a high ponytail, like Kanda's hair. **

**_ANYWAYS~ REVIEW! I love reviews. they always make my heart smile... :) so... REVIEW if you want your next chapter faster! _**

**_THANKS SO MUCH~ Hope you enjoyed reading it~ _**


	5. Chapter 05: The Decision

_**A/N: Special thanks to: The White Wanderer, ErzaScarlet14, AnonymousShadowReader1 (Happy that i finally have something to call you by other than Anonymous~!), Sachiel Angelo, Gothicgirl12 and Kitykazero15-01! You guys ROCK! I would also like to thank everyone who has reviewed and/or favorited my story! Oh and add putting my story on your story alert list to that! :) I love you guys~ awesome people! **_

**_So... Allen's memory finally comes to and end early on in this chapter... :) of course, the Earl and Tyki would like to know more about Allen's past... hehe. What happened afterwards? You won't know... yet._**

**_ENJOY~! I hope you will have fun reading this~_**

**_Disclaimer... yeah. I don't own DGM... *pout* everyone should already by now... so this is prob the last time you will see this disclaimer. XD _**

* * *

**Chapter 05 – The Decision**

When Allen woke up, he had a bag of ice on his head and he was in bed.

"You are finally awake. I was getting worried." A voice beside him spoke. Allen recognized the voice, it was the voice he heard before he passes out.

Allen turned his head slightly, but enough to make the ice pack fall sideways and lean against his face. "Cold!"

"Oops." A light chuckle and hands picked up the ice pack. "Be careful, don't move yet."

Allen stayed still and looked at the source of the voice.

"It's you…" Allen whispered as recognition kicked in, "Thank you for saving me."

"It's not a problem. I couldn't just stand by and do nothing." Cloud Nyne replied with a gentle smile.

"What are you going to do to me now?" Allen asked quietly as he looked up at the ceiling.

**~end of Allen's memory~**

"And that is all that I saw. I don't have any clue what happened to Allen after that… until he met Millennie." Road ended with a sad smile on her face. Her eyes were still stricken with grief and you can still see a hint of anger in her eyes, but the anger wasn't directed at the Earl or Tyki, it was directed towards those who abused or caused harm to _her_ Allen.

Tyki was speechless as he watched Road. He knew humans were trash and unworthy beings, but he didn't realize that they were such monsters as well. Hearing this only caused Tyki to have even more reasons to hate the humans.

"Millennie…" Road started as she looked up, "What are you going to do now?"

Tyki looked at the Earl who seems to be in deep thoughts.

"Well, before that… maybe I should tell you. This boy didn't just revive any normal human beings…" Millennie began, his grin still ever present on his face. Tyki and Road's eyes widened slightly. "Allen was at **that man's** brother's grave."

Tyki and Road just widened their eyes even more and stared at the Earl in shock. They both knew who **that man** was, particularly Road.

"No way…" Road said in disbelieve as she stared at the Earl intensely, it was as if she was willing for the Earl to be joking, but she knew he wasn't. The Earl was serious, she could tell.

"Do you know why?" Tyki asked the Earl slowly and hesitantly.

"I wish I did. And if you haven't already realized, **that man's** brother is Allen's foster father," the Earl replied as he watched Tyki and Road.

"…"

"What will we do?" Road asked unsurely. She didn't want to lose Allen, but **that man** was a traitor… or was he?

"We have been tracking down Mana for quite a while now, and we have finally found him. So of course, I did the only thing logical," the Earl explained ignoring Road's question.

"NO WAY! You couldn't have!" Tyki exclaimed in shock shaking his head.

"Let me finish first…" The Earl commanded with a serious tone of voice making Tyki immediately obey. "As I was saying, I did the only thing logical, but when we got to him, he was already in the hospital, still as stone and pale as snow."

When he heard that, Tyki unconsciously let out a relief exhale of breath, surprising himself.

"So we did nothing. But later that night, which is actually just several hours ago, I felt a pull towards somewhere, so I followed that pull and as it turns out, it was filled with grief and sadness. I realized what kind of pull that was. It was the kind of pull that usually leads me to people who are willing to make more akumas. At the end of that pull, I found this white-haired boy, Allen as we now know, and so I made him the offer, to turn Mana into an akuma. The rest of what happened, you guys now know… I believe," The Earl explained with a thoughtful look.

"How come we weren't informed of any of this?" Tyki asked with curiosity and slight annoyance.

"Because I know it would probably have been hard on you and Road. So I left the assignment to Lulubelle instead," The Earl said with warmth.

"Thank you, Earl," Tyki said with genuine gratefulness. Tyki knew the Earl was right, he had grown very close to **that man** and his brother during the time they were together and he was shocked when the **that man** turned on him and his fellow family. Even so, he couldn't bring himself to hate **that** **man**, he enjoyed **that man's** company a whole lot and he even loved him like a real sibling, but he would never let the others know that. Even now, he still hoped to see that man once again.

"Millennie… why did you order the kill on **that man's** brother though?" Road suddenly spoke up. She herself loved** that man** and enjoyed the company of his brother as well. Like Tyki, she couldn't bring herself to hate **that man** or even resent him a little. Road knows **that man** betrayed her family and he should deserve to not be loved anymore, but she also knows something that all the rest of the Noahs don't know, it was Millennie who made the first move, **that man** only retorted back.

"Because… I blame Mana for my actions… and Mana deserved it." The Earl said with slight guilt that later turned into fierce hatred.

"What do you mean?" Road asked with astonishment. Mana? What did he do to deserve the wrath of the Earl?

"He was the real reason behind **that man's** betrayal. He had planned it all out… from the very beginning, ever since he started resenting us and blaming us for the increasing aloofness that his brother displayed towards him. If it wasn't for his jealousy, **that man **would have still been with us." The Earl explained with narrowed eyes. Tyki and Road were of course shocked at this new revelation, they had known nothing about this. They were also slightly hurt, they had enjoyed Mana's company as well, Mana was _like_ family to them.

"It can't be…" Tyki said in disbelieve.

"Mana told me himself before he disappeared on us," the Earl replied.

"Why would he do such a thing? How could he?" Road cried out, hurt evident in her voice.

"Road, I guess this is why humans are so ugly. Mana's jealousy probably started controlling him and whether he meant it or not, he started resenting us. He didn't want to lose his little brother. His brother was everything to him. I guess I can understand where he came from a little. But still… I can't bring myself to accept him for doing such a thing," Tyki said as he walked over to Road and wrapped her in a comforting embrace. Road smiled slightly at the gesture and leaned into Tyki. He couldn't stand how sad Road looked, sure, Road can be a little annoying at times, but Road was his closest family member besides **that man**. And after **that man's** _betrayal_, they grew even closer.

"Tyki is right. The jealousy of humans blinded their logic and in turn, the ugly of human nature shines out like red in a sheet of white." The Earl said in a tone of distaste with narrowed eyes.

"Heh. This only makes me hate humans even more." Road said bristling with hatred, but Tyki said nothing. Sure, he disliked humans a lot, but he has human friends of his own that were alright and he enjoys their company.

The Earl nodded with agreement.

"Hey, Earl-sama," Tyki began making said man look up. "You still haven't told us what we are going to do with Allen."

"Yeah, Millennie, what's going to happen to Allen?" Road asked with curiosity and slight worry.

"Why don't we raise him like our own? We also need to find out why Mana picked him up and started raising him." The Earl suggested, knowing it would be a well-accepted suggestion.

"YAY~!" Road suddenly cheered as she practically exploded and started jumping up and down on the bed before jumping off to hug the Earl. Tyki was still slightly shocked at Road's sudden change of emotion, but he was happy that the boy gets to stay, especially after hearing his life story from Road.

"But what are we going to do with that boy's Innocence?" Tyki asked when he suddenly remembered the boy's left arm. Road immediately froze and looked at the Earl with slight fear.

"Road, don't worry. I am not going to harm the boy." The Earl reassured, "Tyki, why don't you train that boy's Innocence along with Road~?"

"Al-alright." Tyki stuttered with widened eyes, the Earl's decision took him by surprise.

"YAY~! Thank you so much Millennie~! You are the best~!" Road cheered and jumped off the bed out of Tyki's embrace to bear-hug the Earl. The Earl didn't seem to mind it at all; in fact, he looked like he was enjoying Road's words and affection.

"Hey, Road―" Tyki began with a small gentle smile when suddenly the door burst open and two tangled bodies came in. It was Jasdero and Debitto and they looked guilty. In fact, they seemed to be looking everywhere but the Earl, Tyki and Road.

"Master, I found these two with their ears on the door. They seemed to be eavesdropping so I helped them a little to get in." A female voice reported as a female figure with black long hair tied in a low ponytail with a black ribbon. She was wearing a white dress shirt and black tight dress pants. The outfit was completed with black knee-length boots and black dress coat on top that had pointed ends on the front. Everything fitted perfectly on her astounding figure. She had ash gray skin with yellow cat-like eyes, and seven stigmatas across her forehead.

"Konban wa, Lulubelle. How are you doing tonight?" The Earl greeted pleasantly as he turned around to look at the new arrivals.

"I am doing well, master. Did I interrupt anything?"

"No no~. We are just about done anyways. Right?"

"Yup~!" Road replied.

"Yeah. What are we going to do with the rats?" Tyki asked with an evil smirk.

"…" the Twins looked a little scared because they knew that Tyki can be _very_ scary when he's in his evil mode.

"Whatever you want, Tyki-pon~ but don't kill them. Eavesdropping is not a good habit. If you wanted to know, you could have just asked, Dero-pon and Devi-pon~" the Earl scolded lightly.

"Thank you, Earl. I am going to have some fun then… but STOP calling me by that name!" Tyki started towards the twins and grabbed each of them by the scruff of their clothing on the neck.

"Hold on, Tyki~ I think we need to call a meeting and tell them about our new company first…" Road called out before Tyki could get out of his room.

Tyki sighed and replied, "Alright. Fine."

_**~skip~**_

Using their telepathic powers as a Noah and Road's door that can transport them anywhere, all the Noahs that were currently living at the Earl's mansion or the Ark arrived at the dining room. They sat according to their usual seating: The Earl at the head of the rectangular table, Road on his right, Tyki next to Road , Lulubelle next to Tyki, Debitto across from Lulubelle, Jasdero to the left of Debitto and a large bulky-looking guy to the left of Debitto.

"Earl-sama, who is this new company Road was talking about?" Lulubelle questioned politely.

"Yeah, Earl. Who is that white-haired kid?" Debitto asked impatiently and Lulubelle glanced at him curiously, wondering who he was talking about and whether that kid is the new company that they have.

"Yeah, yeah. Who is that?" Jasdero asked.

"That kid's name is Allen and he is someone that I met earlier this evening, but he was _apparently_ brought home by Tyki unknowingly," explained the Earl.

"Hey! I didn't kidnap him!" Tyki protested as he threw his hands up in exasperation.

"Uh-huh. Sure, Tyki~ Whatever you say~" Road said in a singsong voice and smirked when Tyki got more frustrated.

"Whatever." Tyki muttered as he gave up on explaining himself.

"Sorry to interrupt, but what do you mean you met him earlier this evening, Earl-sama?" Lulubelle inquired with slight confusion.

"I met him at the cemetery and offered to bring his foster father back to life. And he complied, but it turns out… his left arm is Innocence. His Innocence protected him by moving on its own and killed the akuma." The Earl explained. And the rest of the family's, except for Road's and Tyki's, reaction was the same as he had expected. They were, of course, surprised and shocked.

"What do you mean? How is that possible?" Debitto asked with widened eyes. He was even more surprised that the kid is still alive.

"Don't ask stupid questions, Devi. You already know the answer~!" Road scolded with annoyance. Then Lulubelle got up from her seat and started walking towards the room's door.

"Where are you going, dear Lulubelle?" The Earl asked.

"To kill the kid, of course. What else?" Lulubelle replied matter-of-factly with an indifferent expression.

"WHAT? Lulu! NO~!" Road shouted with panic as she jumped from her seat and reached Lulubelle in a matter of seconds. Then she began pulling Lulubelle back towards the seat.

"Road! What are you doing? Why are you stopping me?" Lulubelle asked with confusion and a hint of anger.

"BECAUSE HE'S OUR FAMILY NOW!" Road shouted as she pulled Lulubelle's seat out and pushed Lulubelle into it.

"WHAT?" Lulubelle, Jasdero and Debitto all shouted in astonishment while Tyki placed a hand on his forehead and rubbed it in exasperation.

"Road…" Tyki muttered.

"What do you mean, Road? You have got to be kidding me! A kid with Innocence is our family?" Debitto protested.

"Road is right. Allen is our family now and that's final." It was the Earl who spoke up. Everyone's heads turned towards the Earl and some of them are in shock while the others were in agreement.

"What? I don't understand, Earl. Why?" Lulubelle questioned, she wanted to believe it was her ear that heard wrong.

"Because I am interested in him and because he is **that man's** brother's foster son. Anyways, Allen is adorable~!" The Earl explained and everyone else, except Road, sweat-dropped at the Earl's last part.

"Millennie… Allen is MINE~!" Road claimed, making everyone else except the Earl sweat-drop again.

"Road… I don't think that's the issue here…" Tyki said slowly.

"Agreed." Jasdero suddenly spoke up and Tyki raised his eyebrow in slight surprise.

"**That man**? That's even MORE reason to kill him, Earl-sama." Lulubelle suddenly said fiercely, but her eyes were clouded with anger and sadness. Out of all the Noahs, Lulubelle was probably the one who was most hurt and pained by **that man's** betrayal and no one could blame her.

"Calm down, Lulubelle. That child has done nothing wrong." Tyki suddenly inputted, earning a deathly glare from Lulubelle.

"His very existence is WRONG!" Lulubelle yelled angrily, "He shouldn't even exist!"

"Lulu―" Tyki started, but suddenly stopped. "Did you hear that?" He asked suddenly. He had heard a soft _thud_ and some sniffles. Everyone immediately quieted down and glanced around warily, especially the Earl and Road, they have had enough surprises for a night.

With the room solemnly quiet, soft sounds of sniffles and sob could be heard from the other side of the closed door. _NO, it couldn't be!_ Tyki thought.

Warily and quietly, Tyki approached the dining room's door and carefully opened the right side of the door. He peeked out and saw a small lump lying against the other door which was still closed. Then he saw silver orbs filled with sadness and rejection looking up at him and Tyki's heart was throbbing with an unexplainable ache.

"Allen," Tyki called out to the boy who had his legs up against his chest and his hands around his legs. Allen's head was also buried in the crook where his legs met with his chest, but at the sounds of a door opening, he had lifted his head up to see who had opened the door.

"T-tyki…" Allen whispered unsurely as he stared into Tyki's eyes, the eyes were filled with regret and… is that _pity_? Allen despised being pitied and so he turned away from Tyki. He shot up and broke into a run, running away from the pity shown in Tyki's eyes.

_'I don't want to be pitied! I hate being pitied. What right do they have to pity me!'_ Allen thought with frustration and anger as he ran and ran. He wasn't sure where he wanted to go, but he knew where he didn't want to be, with people who pitied him.

_**~skip~**_

_'Oh crap, he heard us, didn't he. Damn that Lulubelle. Now what are we going to do? Shit.' _Tyki felt bad for the boy for having to hear all this, and felt even worse when the boy's eyes met his. Suddenly the boy got up and broke into a run, but not before Tyki witnessed a slight flare of anger in the boy's eyes. Tyki was so shocked and surprised by the boy's actions and emotion that he stood frozen in his place, not moving the slightest until the call of his name woke him from his trance and his mind finally processed what had just happened.

_'Crap! What should I do?'_ Tyki mentally slapped himself and started trying to decide what he was going to do before another call of his name interrupted his train of thought.

"What?" Tyki asked irritably as he looked back into the room. He realized it was Road that called out his name.

"Was… was that Allen?" Road asked unsurely with a hint of fear. Road had heard both the thoughts of Tyki and another person. Piecing the bits of information together and being able to recognized the voice that called Tyki's name outside of the room, Road made a logical guess.

"Who else could it be? Now what are we going to do? Thanks a lot, Lulu!" Tyki replied sarcastically as he walked back into the room and closed the door behind him. It was too late to even try to catch up to Allen anyways.

"Tyki… Oh no," Road muttered with sadness while Lulubelle just stood there, still slightly shocked at the turn of events.

_'That was the boy? But he sounded so… so... so broken…'_ Lulubelle thought to herself.

"That's because Allen _**is **_broken." Road remarked with a hint of anger.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Lulubelle asked hesitantly with shock. She certainly didn't expect a broken boy to be an accommodator of Innocence and the foster son of **that man's** brother.

"I meant exactly what I sad. You know _**nothing**_ about Allen, don't start judging him just because he is **that man's** foster nephew or just because he was born with Innocence!" Road growled with venom leaking through every word. Even the Earl and Tyki had cringed a little while the twins just cowered with fear and surprise. Shivers went down Lulubelle's body as Road growled out what she wanted to say and it was as if she was frozen in place, strapped there by the venom in Road's voice.

_'Oh crap. Can it get any worse?'_ Tyki thought to himself, but mentally slapped himself when he realized what he had just thought. '_I shouldn't have said that… because usually it DOES get worse if people say that.'_ And of course, Tyki was right.

"Ty-ki!" Road suddenly growled out each syllable with the same amount of venom she used previously and turned to look at Tyki. Lulubelle released a sigh of relief as she was able to move again. Instantly, she backed away from Road. She didn't want to feel anymore of Road's venom and she can't help but inwardly smirk at Tyki's situation, but she felt sort of bad for Tyki. '_Oh well, at least I am not at the receiving end of it anymore,'_ Lulubelle thought to herself.

"Wh-what?" Tyki hesitantly asked in fear of what is about to come. '_I bet Lulubelle is smirking at me, well, I can't blame her. I would too,'_ Tyki thought.

"Why did Allen suddenly felt like he was being pitied?" Road questioned with the same amount of venom.

"I-I d-don't know! I-is that why he ran away?" Tyki asked as he started slowly backing away from Road, but soon, he was frozen in place as well.

Road rolled her eyes and replied like Tyki was an idiot, "I don't ask questions for the heck of it. Well I do, sometimes, but that's not the point! Do I look like I am fooling around right now?"

"N-no."

"Then why are you treating me like I am? Huh?" Road questioned as she menacingly walked towards Tyki.

"R-road, c-calm down! I am sorry!" Tyki replied as he fearfully backed up with his hands in front of his chest as if he was about to push someone.

Then suddenly he hit a wall and he cursed under his breath while Road smirked sadistically. Road continued to approach Tyki while the rest of the Noahs in the room just watched with amusement and a trace of fear. They really didn't like it when Road's super angry side came out, she was really scary, her level of scariness rivaling that of the Earl's.

When Road was within hitting range of Tyki, Road readied her left leg and kicked Tyki in the stomach. Tyki doubled over in pain and crouched holding his stomach with his arms, he looked up into Road's eyes, only to see an evil gleam making Tyki think, _Uh-oh. Please no._

"Too bad, Tyki." Road taunted and readied her right leg this time. A second before Road began her kick, Tyki remembered something and smirked inwardly. When Road's kick reached where Tyki supposedly was, she met the wall of Tyki's room. Realizing what Tyki had done, Road released a growl of frustration while the other Noahs just watched them with even more amusement.

Then Tyki's head appeared through the wall and said with an apologetic and amused smile, "Sorry Road. I value my manhood." Turning towards the twins who were still cowering slightly at the corner, but were watching with amusement, he added with a smirk, "And don't expect you guys can get away from my punishment. I will deal with you two later, my dear brothers."

With that, his head slipped back into the wall and disappeared while the twins started cursing and ill-wishing Tyki.

"Just wait till next time, Tyki!" Road shouted both outwardly and inwardly towards Tyki, making sure Tyki could hear her.

Tyki cringed at the shout in his head, but kept hovering above the ground to find Allen. He headed off towards Allen's room to see if he returned to it, though Tyki doubted it. As Tyki expected, Allen wasn't back in his room and so, he went off towards the kitchen, but Allen wasn't there either. Using his Noah abilities, he telepathically asked the akumas in the house whether they had seen a white-haired boy, but they all replied back "No, Master Noah."

He then asked them to watch out for the white-haired boy and report back to him immediately if they see or find the boy. The akumas all understood and went back to their work since Tyki didn't command them to find the white-haired boy.

Tyki searched every single corner and room of the house, but still he couldn't find a trace of Allen and he even searched the cabinets and anywhere where he thought the boy would hide. As he was walking down the corridor to search the house over a second time, he felt a drop of something wet land on his face and began sliding down. He used his right hand's index finger to catch the drop. Seeing it a drop of clear liquid, he tasted it. '_It tastes salty…'_ he thought to himself. '_Could it be…?'_

* * *

_**So how was that chapter? :) I hope you had fun reading it... *crossing my fingers*there's not that much action in this chapter, well... there are some action.. Anyways... so we finally meet Lulubelle... and I guess she has some OC-ness... well, that's coz I am going to tweak her past and personality a little. :) Lulubelle grew on me... and while I was writing this chapter, I started writing my own version of Lulubelle's past (coz it just came to me and I couldn't not write it) and I posted the first chapter up on already, the name is Lulubelle's Story (yeah i know, it's not that creative... but I had a hard time naming it and i didn't want to give myself a headache, if you have any name suggestions after reading it, go ahead and tell me. If you want to start reading it as well, be my guest! I haven't written the second chapter yet though... but I will prob get back to that sooner or later**_

_********__I love the Tyki and Road moment near the end. :P hehe. XD _

_**Hm. should I write a sidestory one-shot on the twin's punishment from Tyki? Well, if I do find the right place for the twin's punishment in this story, I can put it in... but from what I have in my mind so far... not really... But the twin's punishment... OH... I just had an idea... I guess i will be including it in this story after all... XD maybe. hehe not sure.. now i am just blabbing.**_

_**Oh and since it seems a few reviewers thinks the townspeople need some punishment, I am going to have a part for that, i was going to anyways. :) I am just confirming it now. hehe. I don't think anyone would be against this, right? **_

_**As you can see, Road is getting more protective and affectionate of Allen, I guess so is Tyki. :) You guys probably know who **_**'that man'_ is. hehe. XD_**

**_NEW: For people who didn't read my edited version of chapter 3 (I just added some description of Sylvia's original and Innocence form, like how she looked and her clothes.), ___****I am going to have a section in my profile page called "~In the Closet~" where I am going to include the description of and link to the outfits that some of the characters in my fics are going to wear. Why? Because I am not good at describing characters' appearances and especially their outfits! hehe. And I want you guys to understand it better, so I figure... pictures are easier to get than words... :) And if you want me to have a certain character's description and outfit explained like that, go ahead and tell me. :) Lulubelle's outfit in this chapter is also going there. :)**

**____****I hope you enjoyed reading my story so far and the next chapter is going to be mostly... Tyki and Allen moment while the my own version of the Noahs' story is going to be told... now I am editing my upcoming chapter... and smoothing it out. I hope you guys will like it... *unsure* I didn't really remember the original version of the Noahs' story that well and I needed to add some twists to it so I just created my own version... I guess some of the details are going to stay the same... :)**

**____****Please review if you want... but I would understand if you won't. :D As long as people read this, I am happy. **

**____****~Zen**


	6. Chapter 06: The Noahs

_**A/N: Special Thanks to... ErzaScarlet14, -pon, xXxXKagamine LenXxXx, The White Wanderer, Gothicgirl12, AnonymousShadowReader1 and Sachiel Angelo~! I love you guys for the reviews you give me! :) Thanks to everyone else who has reviewed or added the story to your favorites~ you are SUPER awesome! **_

**_Btw, I am going to start slowing the release of the stories down a little, so maybe about 1 chapter a day? Why? Because I have finally finished releasing all of the chapters I have already written and now I need some time to write the new chapters and then proofread it. :) If I can, I might try to get 2 chapters a day, but those will be rare, most likely._**

**_about 1/5 of this chapter is Tyki explaining to Allen the history of Noah and who the 14th is, but he only sums it up, it's not really everything. But if you are unclear about the way I said those things, you can drop me a review or send me a message, and i will try to clear it up for you guys, okay? And yeah, this Noah history is my own version and the stuff about the 14th are also my own... well most of them, i might have have touched it with the canon DGM a little. *shrugs* :)_**

**_ENJOY~! I hope you will enjoy reading this chapter! And yeah... it has some Tyki and Allen moments. I hope you like them!_**

* * *

**Chapter 06 – The Noahs**

Tyki looked up, finding a metal vent-window above him, as another drop of liquid fell on his face. Squinting his eyes, Tyki could make out a mass of white hair by the vent-window. '_Bingo_,' he thought.

Using his abilities, Tyki lifted himself off the floor and carefully levitated up to the vent window. Tyki's head phased through the window and called out to the child that was huddled up once again. Allen looks up from his position and a shout of surprise and uncertainty escapes his mouth.

_'Oh… oops. Crap,'_ Tyki thought knowing how he must look to the boy, a head that seemingly popped out of nowhere and the body nowhere in sight.

"Allen. It's fine… it's just me… would you like to go back down?" Tyki asks with a gentle smile. Allen looks up and his eyes meet Tyki, then Allen's eyes seemed to be searching for something in Tyki's and when he didn't find what he was searching for, he replied with a question of his own, "Where did you come from?"

"Below the vent-window. Would you like to go back down?" Tyki asked and held out his hands that phased through the ceiling. Allen's eyes widened slightly when he saw Tyki's hands appearing out of the 'floor', but said nothing about it.

"No," Allen replied and then he started crawling away quickly. Tyki was frozen to his spot for several seconds before he realized what just happened. Determined to not let Allen escape a second time, Tyki quickly followed Allen and when he reached him, he embraced Allen from behind.

"Allen…" Tyki said sadly as Allen struggled in Tyki's grasp.

"Let go of me! Just let me go! I am not needed anyways!" Allen cried out as he started thrashing around. Then he hit his head on the vent's ceiling and let go a groan of pain.

"Are you okay, shounen?" Tyki asked worriedly.

"Sh-shounen? What?" Allen asked with confusion as he pulled one of his hands from Tyki's grasp to gently rub where he hit his head.

"It means 'young man'; it describes a boy who is in the age range of elementary school and under 15. But that aside, are you okay, shounen?" Tyki explains.

"Y-yes…" Allen replied as he nodded his head lightly.

"Alright…" Tyki said and an awkward silence followed shortly after.

"Who is **that man**?" Allen asked slowly as he turned his head around to face Tyki, breaking the silence and startling Tyki with his question.

"…how much did you hear?" Tyki asked unsurely.

"Everything that was important?" Allen replied hesitantly.

"That doesn't help… how long where you there?"

"Ever since Earl started explaining how he met me? Who was this Lulubelle anyways?"

_'Crap, he really heard everything that he didn't need to hear,'_ Tyki thought as he inwardly sighed.

"You will meet her soon, I think. She's a Noah." Tyki said with a troubled expression.

"A Noah? What's that?" Allen asked tilting his head sideways.

"A Noah is―" Tyki was interrupted when he felt something poking his shoes.

"Tyki~! What are you doing up there?" A voice that Tyki recognized all too well asked. Tyki froze for a second and cursed his luck.

"Road. I am up here because Allen is." Tyki replied with a tired sigh.

"Really~?" Road asked excitedly, but then she added with slight confusion, "But what is he doing up there?"

"What do you think?" Tyki replied sarcastically and then turned to Allen with a gentle expression, "Would you like to go back down now?"

"No." Allen said stubbornly with a pout on his face and looked down.

"Why not?" Tyki asked.

"Because… I don't want to."

Tyki looked troubled at the boy's response and then let out an exasperated sigh. "Allen, Don't be so―"

"Tyki~!" Road called out from below impatiently.

"What is it, Road?" Tyki asked with annoyance.

"Is Allen okay?" Road asked in a quiet and worried voice.

"I don't know."

"Tyki…" Allen suddenly said, "Who is **that man?**"

"Road… go… for now." Tyki requested and Road, who had heard Allen's question, nodded her head and muttered, "Okay."

Road then called up one of her heart-shaped doors and opened the door, "Bye Tyki, Bye Allen." Road stepped through the door, closing it behind her, and the door dissipated into thin air.

"Allen… Why don't I tell you about **that man** when we are in a more comfortable environment? Let's go down." Tyki slowly suggested.

"You…you promise you will tell me?" Allen questioned as he looked up slowly into Tyki's eyes, searching for anything that might say Tyki was lying.

"Yes. Yes I promise." Tyki replied with a gentle smile, "Stay here for a second, okay?"

"O-okay." Then Tyki's hands started releasing the hold it had on Allen's waist and a look of panic flashed through Allen's face. "No... don't go."

Allen's hands wrapped tightly around Tyki's retreating hands and stubbornly refused to let Tyki move. Tyki was slightly shocked at the boy's actions, but had a small smile on his face when he realized what the boy is thinking.

"Allen… let go, I am just going to remove the vent's window so I can get you through. Your hand is Innocence, so I can't make you phase through the ceiling." Tyki explained gently.

"Try." Allen said as his eyes locked with Tyki's.

"What? Try what?" Tyki asked with a puzzled expression making Allen smile.

"Try phasing through the ceiling with me." Allen explained and when he finished, Tyki's confusion had cleared.

"Oh. Okay… Alright… I will try, but I doubt it will work." Tyki said reluctantly, giving in to Allen's request.

"You don't know until you try." Allen said wisely. Tyki smiled at Allen as he shifted his hand so he could hold Allen bridal-style and started his attempt to phase through the ceiling with Allen.

And to Tyki's surprise, Allen completely phased through the ceiling without a problem and Allen had a sly smile playing on his lips when Tyki touched the ground.

"Wh-what? What just happened?" Tyki spluttered out, not understanding what just happened.

"See? It worked!" Allen said in an I-told-you-so voice making Tyki looked down at the boy in his hands.

"Allen… do you have something to do with this miracle?" Tyki asked unsurely as he tried figuring out what just happened in his mind. '_My Noah abilities allow me to 'choose' whatever I want to touch or don't want to touch, but my choosing has NEVER worked with Innocence before. Innocence ALWAYS touches me and I can never make Innocence phase through anything, but how come Allen's Innocence worked with my abilities?'_Tyki thought.

"Of course not." Allen said feigning very realistic innocence and even Tyki was fooled by it.

"Of-of course. I don't know what I was thinking. Would you like to go to my room or your room?"

"Whichever one you want." Allen replied nonchalantly as he inwardly grinned at how easily Tyki believed him. He didn't really understand how this 'power' worked either. When Tyki explained to him that he couldn't make him phase through the ceiling, a voice inside of him just told him to keep thinking that he wants to phase through the ceiling and Allen did what the voice told him. This was the second time he had heard this voice. The first time was when he just woke up suddenly and he wanted to go to the bathroom, but he didn't know where the bathroom was. But then a voice started talking to him and gave him the directions to where the bathroom was. When he was done, he tried asking how to go back to his room again, but the voice didn't reply back.

"Okay… We will just go to your room then." Tyki said as he headed towards Allen's room with Allen still in his arms. "I thought you were sleeping?"

"I-I was, but then I woke up… and I wanted to go to the bathroom…" Allen explained, leaving out the voice-in-his-head part because Tyki probably wouldn't believe him anyways and Allen didn't want to sound like he was crazy.

"But why did you go out of your room?" Tyki asked while watching Allen secretly.

"Be-because I wanted to find the bathroom?" Allen asked with confusion.

"You didn't know there was a bathroom inside your room? Oh… I guess we didn't tell you…" Tyki realized that this whole situation probably could have been avoided if they had told Allen that there was also a bathroom in his room.

"There was? I didn't know that…" Allen said as he wondered why the voice in his head didn't tell him that and instead led him outside.

"Yeah…" Tyki said he stopped in front of a pair of doors, "We are here."

Then Tyki attempted to phase through the door since he didn't have hands to open the door, but Tyki couldn't walk any further. Tyki looked back and saw the Allen's left arm was not phasing through the door.

"Huh?" Tyki asked, not getting what was happening.

_'Oh, oops,'_ Allen thought to himself and chuckle inwardly, then he conveyed his thoughts to wanting to phase through the door and told Tyki, "Try again."

"Oh. A-alright." Tyki replied dumbfounded and tried to keep walking again. This time, Allen phased through completely without any problems.

_'Guess something just didn't click that last time, or does Allen have something to do with this?'_ Tyki asked as he got suspicious of Allen once again.

"Allen… do you have something to do with this? Answer me honestly." Tyki asked as he stared into the boy's eyes trying to find any clue that might help him to solve this mystery.

"No." Allen replied back simply, hiding all traces of a lie and putting on an innocent expression. His past had taught him many things, acting and having a poker face are some of those things.

"Alright." Tyki said as he settled Allen on the bed and started to pull back his hands, but a snow-white hand grabbed onto Tyki's retreating left arm while a blood-red hand with ink-black fingernails grabbed onto the hinge of Tyki's dress shirt.

"Don't go." Allen requested as he looked up with genuine pleading eyes.

"I am just going to get a chair to sit on, I will be―" Tyki said, but stopped when he saw the boy's pleading eyes and he couldn't find it in him to refuse those eyes. "Alright, I will stay, but where will I sit?"

"With me. On the bed." Allen replied with a child-like smile. Allen didn't want to be alone anymore, not after overhearing Tyki and his family's conversation.

"Alright." Tyki said as he settled onto the bed, sitting cross-legged after removing his shoes, and turned to face Allen who was watching him with a smile and Tyki responded with a smile of his own. Tyki realized that he liked the smile Allen had and wanted Allen to keep smiling that smile. Tyki was so deep into his thoughts that he didn't realize Allen had climbed into his lap, facing Tyki, until Allen had finish settling himself.

"Allen?" Tyki asked slightly confused at the boy's action.

Allen blushed slightly and looked away while replying in a quiet voice, "I feel nice when I am near you."

"Okay." Tyki said gently with a genuine smile on his face. He felt so… nice and happy after hearing those words, but he couldn't understand where the happiness came from.

"Thank you."

"You are very light. So don't worry about it." Tyki remarked, not implying anything, but Allen seemed to have read something from those words and the smile that he had on his face turned into a sad smile.

"Yeah… Tyki… who is **that man?**" Allen asked with a sad look on his face.

"Maybe I should tell you about our family first. We are the Noahs, we are 13 different human descendents of the original Noah, but we aren't really humans anymore. Have you ever heard of the Noah's Ark story?"

"Yes, a little. The one where God had created a flood to wash away the corruption that had risen in the world, right?" Allen asked tilting his head to his side.

"Right, but well, the story you have heard is probably not the true one. The true story is, God himself started resenting the way the humans were, but there was one human that he particularly favored, and that was Noah, the ancestor of the original Noahs. Noah had a very kind heart and even though he had a life that reflected how corrupted and ugly the humans were, he couldn't find it in him to resent them. He was pure and to God, he was different from all the rest of the human race. But then an incident changed how he viewed the humans and that same incident changed how God felt about the humans he had created. Noah started to resent the humans more and more while God started feeling that the human race could change and be saved. Noah started making plans in secret to wipe out the entire human population. While he was watching the human race, he picked out 12 children that had a similar past like him, one that reflected the ugliness of human nature, and raised them like they were his own. When God discovered what Noah wanted to do, it was already too late, because Noah's preparations were done already and he was about to carry out his plan. Noah had already divided his memories into 13 different parts and implanted it into the 12 children that he had raised and his own son, Adam. He had also replicated 13 copies of his genes and implanted it into the 13 children. Before starting his plan, Noah placed the 13 children into the Ark he had created and built." Tyki seemed to be watching Allen, but his eyes had a faraway look.

"When everything was done, Noah finally activated his plan and went to God to erase God. The battle between Noah and God lasted for two days and finally, it was Noah who won, but it was a close battle. Before God was erased though, he used the last of his energy to create the Innocence Cube. This Cube was given to an unknowing human who then fought Noah for half-a-day and was eventually killed, but the Cube that was with him then acted on its own and escaped from Noah and its destruction. The battle between Noah and God had already destroyed half of Earth, while the battle between Noah and that human destroyed a quarter of Earth. Noah was very worn out by the end of the battles and using the last of his energy he completely enveloped Earth into darkness and recreated everything on Earth. The Ark was in a different dimension so it wasn't affected and when Earth finished its recreation, Noah's memories that were within the 13 children awakened and his will was carried out by those 13 children who were now in their teens. At the same time, the Innocence Cube broke into 109 pieces and scattered around the new Earth. The Ark of Noah is the true birthplace and original home of the Noahs and mankind." Tyki finally finished explaining and his eyes that were now in focus, rested on Allen's face.

"Wow. How come this was hidden from the humans though?" Allen asked as he slowly reprocessed everything that Tyki said in his mind.

"Because… we the Noahs, decided to leave it that way. After all, the humans are just descendents of the original 13 Noahs. Every human has Noah genes in them, but 12 chosen humans have stronger Noah genes that will activate whenever it feels that Noah's first child, Adam, needs them. Yes. Adam has never died and has lived for… a long time. But anyways, the memories of Noah are carved into the genes of those 13 chosen humans. And in case Adam dies, the Noah genes within Adam would just move on to a new host with most of Adam's memories completely intact. When a Noah dies, that Noah's memories don't just disappear or disperse, they just move on to a new host that it chooses after careful selection and carve themselves onto the genes of that human. This also causes the genes to become stronger and when these modified genes feels that Adam is in need of the Noahs or that it's time to awaken, it starts awakening that Noah's memories and activate the power that rightfully belongs to that certain Noah," Tyki explained.

"What about **that man**? Who is he?" Allen asked with thoughtful expression. '_It's interesting how the Noahs' memories work_,' Allen thought.

"He is the fourteenth Noah."

"Fourteenth? I thought you said there were only 13 Noahs?" Allen asked with a puzzled look.

"Well, there were 13 _original_ Noahs. This 14th one… he has only appeared in the last generation… We are not sure if he will be reincarnated and whether his memories and genes work in the same way ours do. You see, this fourteenth Noah, he is special. He was chosen by Noah _after_ Noah died, but he still has Noah's memories and genes, his memories comprised of Noah's destruction and recreation of Earth and Noah's afterlife before Noah finally passed on to wherever he went. We don't know how and why, but this carved gene and memory just surfaced last generation out of nowhere, whether it was set by Noah himself or a coincidence or the genes' own doing, we don't know. The only one who probably has any idea about it would be the Fourteenth himself. The Fourteenth's genes weren't just a replica, it was Noah's own genes and about his memory, we are not sure whether that is a replica of not. But you see, in the Fourteenth's memories, there was something special, a memory that was erased during Noah's life but regained in the afterlife. It was memories of the incident that switched God's and Noah's views and opinion. When the Fourteenth told us about it, we were surprised, because even the Earl didn't know about this." Tyki explained as his eyes started traveling down memory lane.

"What was the incident? What happened?" Allen asked with very apparent curiosity,

"It was God himself who changed their views. God had transferred his own hatred and wrath towards the humans into Noah. And in turn, he took Noah's hope and love for the humans from Noah. God became 'Noah' and Noah became 'God'. God couldn't bear to hate the humans anymore and when he saw Noah, he wanted Noah's feelings and views. After the transfer was complete, God messed with Noah's memories, making Noah forget what had happened and leading Noah to believe that it was on his own account that his views changed. God also messed with his own memories a little so that he would remember nothing about hating and resenting humans and what he did. So summing it up… it was God's own will to destroy the Earth and we Noahs are just carrying out God's will, even if God might not remember it anymore." Tyki finished explaining and looked at Allen who seemed to be deep in thought.

"I see… God didn't want to take responsibility of his own actions and feelings, so… he dumped it on someone else. How cruel and annoying." Allen commented with a cold expression on his face. Tyki didn't expect this response and so he was speechless, but when he thought about it, he found that Allen's comment made sense and it was just like Allen to think that.

"You have only told me the history… what about the Fourteenth himself? Tell me about him." Allen inquired with more emotion.

"The Fourteenth… he was very talented in music, any instrument that you gave him, he could probably play it like he has played it his whole life. He was also a talented composer, the songs that he wrote were the best things I have ever heard and he had a beautiful voice. He was easily accepted into the family and was loved by everyone. He had a biological older brother and his older brother was also accepted into the family. The Noah that you asked about, Lulubelle, she felt the closest to him out of all of us, because he was the first person to accept her and treated her with love and kindness."

"Then why… why did she hate the Fourteenth so much? And me?" Allen asked with insecurities.

"Because… the Fourteenth betrayed us all. He killed every single one of us… except for Road and the Earl. He was a traitor and so was his brother." Tyki replied as emotionlessly as he could. It pained Tyki to have to say those words, but this was what Allen probably has to believe in. It was Tyki's only choice.

Allen was shocked and speechless, he couldn't understand why the Fourteenth would betray the family that loved him and accepted him. It didn't make sense to him.

"W-why? Do you know why the Fourteenth betrayed the Noahs?" Allen asked hesitantly as if he was afraid of the answer.

"Because of humans. His memories also gave him the love of humans, remember? Noah cared for humans before the incident. And so, Fourteenth sided with the humans." Tyki replied. Tyki wasn't really lying, but he also wasn't telling the whole truth.

"So in a way, isn't it Noah's fault?" Allen asked knowing it was a childish thought.

"In a way, I guess… but it was the Fourteenth's own decision… to become a traitor." Tyki replied.

"And the Fourteenth must take responsibility of his actions…" Allen said.

"Yes. And I think it's about time you go to sleep." Tyki said suddenly remembering the time. It was late in the night, at least one in the morning.

"But… but doesn't that mean you are going to leave me? No. I don't want to sleep then." Allen said with a pout, he didn't want to be alone, not anymore.

"Allen…" Tyki began with a slight scolding tone, but his insides were warmed by Allen's thoughts. Allen didn't want him to leave…

"Oh! I know! You can sleep with me, Tyki!" Allen suddenly suggested with pleading eyes and brightened at his idea.

"How about I stay with you until you fall asleep?" Tyki asked while Allen appeared to be thinking about the new suggestion for a little while.

"Okay! Thank you, Tyki!" Allen agreed and gave Tyki an affectionate hug before getting off of Tyki. Allen's hug had caught Tyki off-guard, but he still fully savored the feeling he got when Allen hugged him and he smiled a smile that he hasn't shown for a long while. Allen got to the center of the bed and crawled under the covers before his head reappeared seconds later and looked at Tyki. "Come over here."

"Alright." Tyki said as he got off the bed and walked over to the left side of Allen. "Yes?"

"Get inside the covers. It's warmer and you will be closer to me." Allen invited with a sweet smile.

"Alright…" Tyki said as he got on the bed and lied down before getting on his side to face Allen, supporting himself with his right arm. His right arm's elbow was on top of a pillow while his wide-spread hand was against the right side of his face.

"Can you sing?" Allen asked as he turned his head to face Tyki.

"Yes. A little." Tyki replied as he remembered how **that man** taught him how to sing better and play the piano a little.

"Really? Can you… can you sing me something?"

"Alright." With that, Tyki begun his lullaby, it was a baritone silky voice that was as smooth as silk. Allen couldn't understand the lyrics, but he felt very calm and at peace listening to it, it was filled with warmth. Slowly, Allen closed his eyes with a small smile. [**A/N**: the _text like this_ is the lyrics to the song Tyki is singing, while _text like this_ is the translation of the lyrics… since this song is in Portuguese and a lot of us probably don't understand Portuguese.]

"_Fica comigo, meu mel __(Stay with me, my honey/love)_

_Tire o adeus das mãos (__Don't say goodbye__)_

_Não me entregue à solidão, meu mel (__Don't leave me alone, my honey/love)_

_Porque eu preciso de você (__Because I need you__)_

_Lembra da nossa canção (__Rememeber our song__)_

_Dos nossos sonhos, enfim (__Our dreams, well__)_

_Que fazer de tantas coisas? (__What should I do (with so many things)?__)_

_Sem ter você (__Without (having you)__)_

_O pedaço bom de mim (__The good side of me__)_

_Meu mel, não diga adeus (__My honey, don't say goodbye__)_

_Eu tenho tanto medo (__I am so afraid__)_

_De ficar sem o seu amor (__To lose your love__)_

_E pra sempre ser um ser só (__And to be alone forever__)_

_Não vá, não saia de mim (__Don't go away, don't leave me__)_

_Eu enlouqueço de vez (__I will get crazy once and for all__)_

_Chega mais (__Come closer__)_

_Pra eu olhar no seu olhar (__So I can look into your eyes__)_

_E pedir mais uma vez __(And ask once again__)_

_Meu mel, você é o pedaço bom de mim (__My honey/love, you are the good side of me__)_

_Não me entregue à solidão (__Don't leave me alone__)_

_Meu mel, você é o pedaço bom de mim (__My honey/love, you are the good side of me__)"_

As Tyki was singing the song, his left-hand's fingers were gently combing through Allen's soft hair and when Tyki finished his song, the boy was already calmly asleep. _He looks so in need of protection_, Tyki thought to himself, he didn't want to leave Allen yet. Suddenly the quiet opening of a door catches Tyki's attention.

"The fourteenth is a traitor and he sided with the humans, huh." A female voice remarks quietly as she stepped out of the door that was located on the right side of the room.

"How long have you been there, Road?" Tyki asked quietly as he looks up at Road with slightly angered eyes. He hated eavesdroppers.

"Been there even before you guys got in. I was transporting Allen's wardrobe… I went shopping." Road replied as she walked over to the right of Allen's bedside.

"I bet Allen is just going to _love_ the clothes that you got him." Tyki replied sarcastically.

"Oh shut up Tyki." Road said without the slightest trace of anger, only annoyance. But then her emotion changed into that of sympathy. "I know why you told Allen the Fourteenth was a traitor… you just wanted to protect him."

"Yeah… It still hurt to say it though." Tyki said with all traces of the early bickering forgotten. He knew that Road understood how he felt because Road feels the same way.

"You wanted Allen to know that Lulubelle only said those things because he was the foster nephew of **that man**. Well, you wanted Allen to think that way… but I am not sure about how Lulubelle really feels. You didn't want Allen to take her seriously… but you know he will, right? Even though you told him that." Road said sadly as she watched the sleeping form of Allen, Allen looked so peaceful and pure.

"Yeah, I know… but at least it was worth the try… and it's better if Allen thinks like that. Do you not agree?" Tyki looks at Allen with sadness clouded in his eyes. He just wanted Allen to be happy and to always be smiling.

"Yeah. It is better, he will also be accepted easier. After all, only you and I heard what Millennie said earlier tonight. "

"What about the twins? They were eavesdropping."

"Don't worry about them, I checked their minds, it was clean. They only started being there after I asked the Earl what we were going to do with Allen. Even if they heard more, they probably forgot about it already…"

"That's good. I think we should just keep what we learned tonight to ourselves, don't you?"

"Yeah, I think so too. The rest of the family should only know the basics for now… It's better for them that way. We have believed that the Fourteenth betrayed us so 'cold-heartedly' for so long already. It will be hard on them if they learned the _real_ truth, I don't want my family to have to go through all that again, it was harsh and painful. And it would be not so good for Allen either… Allen will probably be judged for what Mana did. I want Allen to have a real family… and I treasure Allen too much already, I don't want to see him get hurt anymore."

"I don't either. So I will support you. Don't tell anyone else this… please keep this a secret, a secret just between you and I. _We_ love Allen already. Allen is already part of our family in our eyes and we don't want to see him get hurt." Tyki said as he watched Allen lovingly.

"_We?_ Oh~ Tyki~ I am happy~!" Road said happily, slightly raising her voice as she realized what Tyki had just said and saw the way the Tyki was watching Allen. Tyki had already grown fond of Allen, like Road herself.

"Shh. Quiet down, we don't want our beloved shounen to wake up now, do we?" Tyki said as he slowly and quietly got off of the bed. When he was on his own two feet, he reached over and kissed Allen's forehead gently, "Sweet dreams, shounen."

Road just stood back and quietly said with overflowing affection, "Sweet dreams, my dear Allen."

Tyki walked over to where Road stood and picked up his shoes to put it back on. When he was done, he placed his right arm around Road's shoulders and pulled her into a small embrace, "Let's go, Road," Tyki said quietly.

"Thank you, Tyki."

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_**Okay, so how was that? I also had a Tyki and Road moment at the end. :) The stuff Tyki said isn't everything, some of the stuff I didn't know where to put in, so I just left it out. But I will probably include it back in the story in later chapters. :) But i hoped you were okay reading through that history... *looks up expectantly***_

_**Did you like the Tyki and Allen moments? They aren't too close yet... I mean, they have just met like a few hours ago... wow... that makes me realize... I spent like 6 chapters on the first few hours of Allen's arrival to the Noahs' home and Allen's past. WOW. ;-_-; oh well... now I have to think about what will happen in the next chapter... oh yes... I will prob focus on Allen's second day for a little while before moving on ahead... I guess it's sort of planned.. XD**_

_**and guess what? this chapter was like 5,000 words... the longest chapter I have ever written, I think, yeah i am pretty sure it is. but about 1,200 of those words were the lyrics to the song Tyki sung and Tyki's explanation about the Noah's history and the 14th and how Allen responded... wow. hehe. that was a lot of words... **_

_**Speaking of which, the song that Tyki sung was "****Meu Mel" by Leonardo/Markinhos Moura. "Meu Mel" means "My Honey/Love", btw. nice, huh? If you want to listen to it, you can either youtube it or go onto my profile and I will have the youtube link to this pretty good version of the song. I liked the song... and as I said before, the song is in Portuguese. I just searched through the internet and found this song... then i checked through it and I found it fitting to the scene/situation and I liked it, so i used it... it doesn't belong to me. :) **_

_******Oh yeah... I have also decided that I am going to tweak the character's personalities and past a bit (a voice in my head: "Liar." Me: "*twitch* Oh shut up.") **__******coz well, the past I am going to give them is a little different, so of course they are going to be a little different from their original personality. They might seem a little OC at times, but i am not going to stray that far from it's original personalities. You won't mind, right? :) And... man... i made Tyki speak a whole lot, I bet the amount of words I have made him speak and think is a lot more that the dialog and thoughts he was given in the canon manga AND anime. XD oh well.**_

_******I am going to have some parts of this chapter to be expanded on in my "~In the Closet~" area on my profile. If you want to check it out~ be my guest~ It's going to be about Tyki's positions since I had trouble explaining myself. O_o *not good with descriptions, need to work on it***_

_******Anyways, if you want your next chapter up faster? you know the drill... drop me a REVIEW because i LOVE reviews. they are like my powerhouse besides good fanfics, food, sleep, and music. XD (but i dont listen to music while writing... i just find it hard to concentrate.) **_

_******and speaking of which... time to start working on Chapter 7... :) I will prob post it tomorrow at the latest... earliest? well.. like 3 in the morning... XD hehe**_

_******SO please REVIEW! :) you guys are super duper awesome~!**_

_******~Zen**_


	7. Chapter 07: The Nightmare

_**A/N: Hey! :) Omg... I am finally done with this chapter... :) Special thanks to: silverXshadow, dgm-mega fan, The White Wanderer, Sachiel Angelo, sohra (who is now cute-nina), AnonymousShadowReader1, Gothicgirl12, p3paula, Peculiar Top hat, and stardom! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME! Also thanks to... EVERYONE who has reviewed and/or favorited my story and/or added my story to their story alert list! Though I wish you guys would finally drop me a review... :P :) I am a review maniac... XD **_

_**Anyways... well... this new chapter should have been posted earlier... but I slept in like really late... sorry~ :) I am going to start working on the next chapter right away after reading a few fanfics... :) so i hope I will update faster tomorrow! **_

_**Warning... some violence.. and i guess a lot of 'hell' being used. :P **_

_**The first part of this story is a dream.. I will just tell you that to begin with. :) the **text like this** is what is happening while text like this are thoughts, well most of them. You will probably be able to figure it out. :) And in after we are out of the dream **text like this** would be the thoughts. :) **_

_**oh yeah. fyi, there's going to be a tykiXallen moment later in the story. :) I loved that part. :P **_

_**ENJOY~! **_

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**Chapter 07 – The Nightmare**

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_A boy with white blood-stained hair was running through the dark forest with seemingly floating orbs of brightly colored fire chasing after him. __Muffled shouts of anger could be heard from behind the boy. Every now and then, the boy would glance back swiftly to see the distance between him and the group of fire before turning back to watch where he was going. He didn't have particular good night-vision, but he had great athlete skills and balance, so even when he stumbled upon something, he caught himself easily and continued to run as if his life was counting on it, and in truth, it was. _

"_WE MUST GET HIM!" An angered voice filled with spite and resentment shouted out behind the boy, receiving many growls of agreement. _

_**Why? Why me? It wasn't me! Why won't anyone believe me?**__ The boy thought desperately to himself. The boy was in battered clothing and covered in blood and scratch marks. His heart's pounding is almost unbearable, but the boy knew that if he gave up, his life would be over and he didn't want that. He wanted to find her again, he wants her to confirm that she didn't abandon him and he wants to see her again, her kind and calming face. _

_**~Flashback start~**_

_A white-haired boy covered in blood was kneeling in front of a mob of angry humans that were calling him names. Behind the mob stood the police station and the jail that was connected to the station by a hallway, well at least what was left of the police station and jail, the entire building was still blazing with fire and the smoke created was slowly filling up the surrounding area. The building continued to collapse and cackle, it was the biggest fire the town has ever witnessed. As soon as someone saw the fire, he woke up the entire town with his cry for help and the now-alert townspeople began to retrieve water to extinguish the fire._

_A group of rescue team had gone in to save the ones that were trapped inside. Usually there weren't that many people left in the building at this time of the night, but there had been a big case concerning a serial murderer that was recently caught and so there had been extra guards watching over the prisoner and police officers doing last minute preparations and planning for a group of prisoners who were going to be transported to another jail the next day. _

_When the rescue team came back out, they were alone and were terrified with widened eyes. The leader of the rescue team reported what they had witnessed, they had came across brutally murdered bodies with fear-struck eyes that were wide open and limbs and blood were everywhere. They then ran to the hallway that led to the jail and their path was blocked by fire and wood that fell from the ceiling, so they decided to retreat before they couldn't go back out. The townspeople listened to them with shock and by the time they were finished, they were speechless while the family members of the ones that were in the building cried out in anguish. The family member's friends walked over to the lamenting people to try and comfort them, but everyone could do nothing but watch as the building and everything within reduce to ashes. _

_Suddenly they saw a small figure walking out of the fire before them, some gasped in shock while others just watched in speechless silence. There was a survivor, the townspeople couldn't believe it. As the small figure came in closer view, recognition flickered in their eyes, it was the white-haired boy named Allen who had came into their town about two weeks ago, everyone immediately distrusted him because he had unusual snow-white hair and a badly deformed arm. No one would offer to give him a place except for this old woman who lived by herself. However, a few days later, the old woman went missing and no traces of her could be found. Immediately, the townspeople began to suspect the boy but since they couldn't find any evidence, they could do nothing but ostracize him and refused to sell him anything. People within the town began to disappear and unexplainable situations continued to occur, the townspeople became more and more wary and suspicious of the boy. After all, incidences like this only started happening after Allen arrived. The townspeople formulated a plan where a few 'witnesses' would say that they had seen the boy lurking around the people who went missing before they went missing and with that, they arrested the boy and locked him up in the dungeon. The boy only received food and water every 2-3 days and sometimes, they would be forcing him to admit to the crime by inflicting pain upon the boy, but even so, the boy refused to admit to the crime he knew he didn't commit._

_Allen was in bad shape, but other than a few mild burns and scratches here and there, the boy seemed to have been mostly unscarred by the fire. When the townspeople saw how mildly injured the boy was, they immediately suspected him of being the one to have lit the fire and brutally murdered everyone, after all, he did have the motives and reasons._

_Allen felt wary of the townspeople who were now watching him with hostility and suspicion, so he started to break into a run towards the town's entrance, but before he made it far he was called to a halt by a demanding voice behind him and Allen felt hands on his back before he was shoved to the ground rather harshly. He landed face-first onto the ground and he hissed at the pain that told him some of his wounds were reopened. Carefully, Allen got to his knees and turned around to face the approaching group of townspeople with fear. _

"_Wh-what?" Allen asked warily._

"_YOU MURDERER!" One of men accused angrily. _

"_N-no no! It wasn't my fault! I didn't se-set the place on fire! I didn't kill anyone! I am not a murderer!" Allen shouted back with panic and fear. _

"_Then what the hell could have happened in there? Not only did you not DIE, but you came back out with barely any injuries! And you are COVERED in blood! YOU MONSTER!" Another villager accused with clear animosity and hatred. _

"_N-no! N-NO!" Allen protested in horror as he began to shake his head frantically and his hands shot up, covering his ears. Then Allen kept repeating in a desperate mutter that turned into a roar, "No, I am not a monster. I am not monster. I am not a monster. I am not a monster. I AM NOT A MONSTER!" _

_Most of the townspeople just looked at the boy's protest and mutter with malice while a few began to pity the boy a little. When the boy roared, the townspeople couldn't help but take a slight step back in fear. _

"_YOU ARE THE CHILD OF DEVIL HIMSELF!" A voice suddenly cried out in spite and other angry shouts followed soon after as the boy continued to shake his head frantically and trying to block out what the townspeople were saying to no avail. _

"_People! We should crucify him and then burn him with holy fire! Then our town's peace will return and we will be able to avenge all those who had fallen tonight!" A loud voice suddenly suggested and soon growls of agreement were heard while the boy just looked up in terror. As the townspeople went near the still burning building to light their torches with fire, the boy shakily got up to his two feet and began to dash into a run towards the town's entrance. _

"_HEY! The BOY IS ESCAPING!" A man who noticed the boy dashing into a run shouted out in anger. Within moments, the people who had already gotten their torches lit picked up their own pieces of wood and began chasing the boy. Other people hurriedly lit their torches and did the same thing. _

_**~Flashback end~**_

_**I am not a monster! I am not a murderer!It wasn't me who set the place on fire! It was that person who rescued the serial killer the townspeople were talking about, that person just saw me and decided to 'rescue' me as well! But no, they didn't even try to listen to me! Why? I am not a monster!**__ Allen thought to himself as he continued running through the forest like a blind mice, but he was so deep in thought that he didn't notice the tree root in front of him that was sticking out of the forest ground. He stumbled over the tree root and even his superior balance couldn't save him as he fell onto his bottom. He scrambled to get up from where he was but it was too late, the angry mob of people caught up to him already and a pair of hands pushed him back down making him land on his bottom once again. _

_Using his hands which were on the ground, Allen slowly backed away while shaking his head in protest, "N-no! It wa-wasn't me! Why won't you believe me?"_

"_Why the hell would we believe in a demon child?" A voice growled out angrily. _

"_GET HIM, GUYS! WE MUST BRING PEACE BACK TO OUR TOWN ONCE AGAIN!" Another voice thundered with a snarl. The men in the mob then began to carefully spread out, surrounding and completely trapping Allen who was now watching the mob shaking with fear. _

"_Pl-please don't! What are you doing?" Allen said as his eyes followed the movement of the men that were surrounding him. _

"_WE SHALL AVENGE THE DEAD!" The leader of the mob declared angrily and at that signal, the men advanced forward as they raised the various types of sticks they held in their hands and when they reached Allen, they swatted down their stick at the fear-filled Allen. _

_Allen cried out in pain and as the men continually slapped their sticks down onto Allen, he would beg them to stop, but no one would listen, they didn't care they were beating up a six/seven-year-old or that they didn't even listened to his explanation. Every now and then, laughter and growls of satisfaction could even be heard from the mess. _

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Road was looking through Allen's closet of clothes that she had bought and transported the night before. She only bought about 15 outfits because she was planning to bring Allen out later to let him choose his own clothes with the assistance of Tyki and herself. Road woke up this morning feeling especially happy and after getting dressed, she had opened up a heart door that had brought her straight to Allen's closet so that she could choose the outfit Allen was going to wear later. She was still narrowing down her choices when suddenly, sounds of a body thrashing around grew louder and louder and Road started hearing muffled cries coming from the other side of the door.

_What is going―_ Road was in the middle of her thought when a blood-curdling scream interrupted her thoughts. Immediately she dashed to the entrance of the closet and opened the door that connected the closet to Allen's room. Road ran straight onto Allen's bed and started trying to wake the thrashing boy up.

"No! Stop! No! Please stop!" Allen was crying out in pain and Road's inside was in a frenzy trying to figure out what the hell the boy was dreaming about. She decided it was important to wake the boy up before it got any worse, so she grabbed onto Allen's shoulders and started shaking him.

**~skip~**

Tyki was just putting on his white dress shirt when he heard a blood-curdling scream coming from the direction of Allen and Road's rooms. Without a second thought, Tyki rushed out of his room and ran towards the source of the scream that could wake up an entire town without even buttoning up his shirt. He didn't bother to check Road's room because well, the scream didn't sound like Road's and it would take a whole lot for Road to scream like that. Before he phased through the door to Allen's room, he could hear the opening of a door and he glanced to see who had come out of his/her room. It was the twins.

_The scream probably woke them up… hell, the scream probably woke the entire house up…_ Tyki thought to himself before phasing through the door without greeting his brothers. When Tyki entered the room, Road was frantically trying to wake Allen up by shaking his shoulders and calling his name, but Allen was still crying out in pain and telling someone to please stop.

"Allen! Allen! Wake up! Allen! Please―" Road called out.

"What the hell is going on, Road?" Tyki questioned with worry and thought, _what is happening to my shounen?_ "I hope you don't have anything to do with why he seems to be having a nightmare…"

"Of course I have nothing to do with this! Why would I do that? So quit standing there and just get over here and help me wake Allen up! He just won't wake up!" Road muttered with frustration as she glanced up to look at the arrival with annoyance before watching Allen worriedly. Tyki did as Road said and fast-walked to Allen's bedside.

"How long has he been like this?" Tyki said as he took over Road's job and started calling out to Allen as well.

"I'm not sure, I only came to his side after I heard his scream. I was in his closet picking out his outfit, but I started to hear some thrashing around and muffled cries for help. I was about to go check on him when he started screaming," Road explained with slight panic.

"Allen! Wake up! Wake up!" Tyki called out as he was listening to Road's explanation, but the boy was still thrashing around. "What the hell is he dreaming about? Road, ever thought of checking out his dream world and wake him up from there?"

Road just stared wide-eyed at Tyki after hearing Tyki's suggestion, she had been in such a panic that she had even forgotten she was the Noah of _Dreams_. Tyki glanced up at Road when she didn't reply and seeing Road's expression, he just let out an exasperated sigh and said, "Well then, don't just sit there, get into his dream world already!"

"O-of course," Road finally moved and gently placed her hand over Allen's forehead. Then Road's eyes unfocused and her mind wasn't there in the room anymore.

Road entered Allen's dream world without any problems and she found herself in a place that was a glowing purple with pictures flowing around. About ten feet in front of her, she saw the form of a giant dome that was shaped like an igloo.

_That must be where Allen is,_ Road thought as she raced towards the part of the dome that sticks out. _And this must be the entrance… but where's the door?_

Standing in front of a curved archway, Road looked around and couldn't find any visible doors. _What if I just step forward? Maybe this is a barrier of some sorts…_

Road walked forward and when she reached where the dome was, she felt herself going through something like a sheet of curtain and then she was inside. She found herself in a short-lengthed but wide tunnel where the 'walls' and 'floor' were made of rotating filmstrips that had a scene playing in each fragment of the filmstrips.

_These must be Allen's memories and the different kind of dreams he's had…_ Road thought. Although she wanted to stay here longer to see more of Allen's memories, Road knew it was crucial to find Allen and make him wake up in the real world as soon as possible. With that in mind, Road walked forward to the part of the tunnel that connected it with the rest of the dome. What Road found in the dome were that the walls were made of continuous rows and columns of screens that was playing different scenes and in the middle sat a familiar white-haired boy. The boy's knees were to his chest and his arms were around his knees, he was watching a particular scene on a gigantic 'screen' that seemed to have been projected from the very top of the dome.

Road carefully walked up to the boy and placed her right hand on Allen's shoulder, making the boy's head turn around to look at the visitor. The boy had on a face devoid of emotion and eyes that had a flare of slight interest, but when the boy saw who it was that interrupted him, Allen's eyes lit up and his mouth pulled into a pleasant smile.

"Hi Road, what a surprise. What brings you here?" Allen greeted in a melodic voice like nothing was wrong.

"I am here because you won't wake up in the 'real world'," Road replied back with a sad smile.

"Ah… that's because the 'dream' I am having is too overpowering. You did the right thing by coming here, it is useless to try and forcefully wake me up in the 'real world'," Allen said with understanding.

"Does that mean if I didn't come here, Allen would have never woken up?" Road asked in slight disbelief.

"No… he most likely would have woken up sooner or later, but he wouldn't be in good shape. If what you said was really true, then it hasn't happened yet…"

"What do you mean?" Road questioned. She had released a sigh of relief when Allen told her he would have still woken up, but her relief had turned out to be short-lived.

"Allen has had dreams like this one for a long time already. However, after an incident, Allen doesn't remember what he dreamt of most of the time. These aren't just random dreams that Allen dream of, they are usually memories that he relives." Allen explained as he turned back to watch the scene that was playing in front of him.

"How come he doesn't remember them?" Road asked worriedly as she turned to watch the memory that Allen was reliving as well. In the screen, a group of people was surrounding what seemed to be a child covered in blood and was beating that child with sticks. _No, it couldn't be, could it?_ Road thought as her heart started throbbing with psychological pain as the child continued to be beaten.

"Yes, the child in the middle being beaten up is Allen. However, the real thing wasn't quite as long… Allen just unconsciously extended the time way longer than it originally was."

"Why would these filthy humans do such a thing?" Road said as her heart started wrenching from the painful cries and pleads to stop coming from Allen.

"You should already know why, Road," Allen said softly as he watched Road.

Road turned to look at Allen, "You are right, I do." Then hesitantly she added, "Are you really Allen?"

"Yes I am. I am a part of Allen. I guess you could say I am the 'keeper' of Allen's memories, thoughts and dreams. Whenever Allen acquires one of those things, I would be storing them. I know everything that Allen knows, but I also know some things that Allen don't know. However, I am not suppose to interfere, so all I can do is just watch and store whatever Allen is experiencing. But sometimes, I have to struggle to keep Allen sane and not completely broken. I always keep Allen's best interest in mind and do whatever is best for Allen, even if that means I have to interfere. I guess you can say I am sort of like Allen's guardian, but I am Allen and Allen is me," Allen explained.

"Doesn't that mean you are sort of like the Bookman? Except not as strict and such? And how come I haven't come across people like you in other people's mind? Plus, what do you mean Allen is struggling to keep his sanity?" Road asked as she absorbed everything Allen had just told her.

Allen chuckled and said, "I guess in a way I am like the Bookman. Allen has me because he is special, but I do know of other people who have something that is like me. But those 'guardians' are usually just like the way Bookmen are. All they do is watch, observe and store, well… almost all of them anyways. But as I have said before, Allen is special. And to your forth question, Allen's _entire_ life has been filled with rejections and hatred, what do you think is going to happen to someone as pure as Allen? And please don't forget, he is still just a child," Allen replied to Road's fourth question with a scowl.

_He has a point…_ Road thought and remembered something, "Allen is special? What do you mean? And why can't Allen remember these horrible dreams he has? Most people would remember such horrible things…"

"Road, I think you came here to wake Allen up, did you not?" Allen asked, avoiding Road's questions.

_Oh crap, I had completely forgotten about that…_ Road thought with distress, paying no attention to Allen's avoidance of her questions. "Yeah, I did."

"Well, then consider it done, I will bring back Allen's consciousness to the real world. And I think it's about time you return to the real world as well." Allen said softly.

"Alright," Road wanted to stay a little longer, but she knew Allen was right, it was time to leave.

"Bye Road." Allen said with a wave and soft smile, "It was nice talking to you~ Please take good care of Allen."

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_Road has been gone for a while already…_ Tyki thought worriedly as he watched Allen's body. Allen had started slowing down his thrashing and cries for help after Road entered his mind for about 3-5 minutes. Tyki had also given up on shaking the boy's shoulders after the boy's thrashing around lessened, after all, he didn't want to dislocate the boy's shoulders.

After Road left, members of the Noah family started coming in as well and even the Earl and Skin Boric was there now. A few akumas had also came to check what was going on, but were all ordered to go back to their work.

The Earl had worriedly demanded to know what was going on and Tyki told him everything that he knew from Road hearing Allen's thrashing around and cries for help to Road entering Allen's dream world to wake him up as Tyki suggested. When Tyki was finished, the Earl looked even more worried while the rest of the family watched Allen with sympathy and worry, even Lulubelle and Skin Boric. Jasdevi were in black tank-tops and black sweatpants; Lulu was wrapped in a satin rose pink robe that reached her knees and pale pink soft plush slippers, her hair was down as well; Skin Boric was in a night blue pajama top with the design of lollipops and desserts all over it and night blue sweats of the same design; and the Earl was in his usual outfit, having already woken up and dressed before he heard Allen's scream.

Slowly the thrashing came to a stop and so did the boy's cries. Tyki looked up at Road, closely watching for any sign of movement. Road's right hand that was still on Allen's forehead twitched and soon Road's eyes came to focus again.

Tyki unconsciously released a sigh of relief and with a soft smile, greeted, "You are back, Road."

Returning with a sad smile, Road said, "Yes I am. Allen should be waking up soon as well."

As if Road's words were the magic word, Allen began to stir and slowly opened his eyes.

"Good morning, Allen," Tyki greeted with a relieved smile as Allen slowly rose up, the rest of the family had similar expressions as well.

"Are you okay, Allen?" Road asked with worry.

"Tyki… Road…" Allen said as he started shaking in fear and terror. Tears began to flow out of the shaking boy and Road's and Tyki's heart started aching at the sight. Tyki climbed onto Allen's bed and embraced the shaking boy, setting his head on the younger boy's soft white hair.

"Everything is okay now, shounen. You are safe now," Tyki whispered gently.

Allen slid his hands under Tyki's unbuttoned shirt, wrapping his arms around Tyki's bare back and placed his hand against Tyki's bare chest. Tyki felt drops of tears landing on his chest as he soothed the boy, but he felt Allen beginning to relax and the sniffles and tears slowing down as well. Allen basked in the warmth radiating from Tyki's body and the soothing sound of Tyki's heart beating calmed Allen, bringing him a peace of mind.

_This feels so nice. I wish we can stay like this forever…_ Allen thought wishfully, but Allen could feel his stomach growing impatient, so unwillingly, Allen slowly released his hands from Tyki's back and his body slowly pulled back. Looking up, Allen said with a grateful smile, "Thank you, Tyki."

Tyki had enjoyed the feeling of Allen's hands around him and Allen's head against his chest, so he was a little displeased when Allen pulled back and thanked him. Reluctantly, Tyki let go of Allen's body as well and a small smile was shown on his face to cover up his displeasure, "You are welcome."

Allen replied with another smile and then turned to look at Road, "Thank you, Road, for waking me up."

Road was slightly surprised that Allen realized she was in his dream world. _Allen's 'guardian' must have told him_, she thought. Then she said with a shrug and gentle smile, "No big deal. As long as you are safe now."

"Now then, my dear children. Let's get dressed. Breakfast will be in an hour." The Millennium Earl announced with a cheerful smile as he grasped his hands together, his heart warming at the display of affection shown by his dear 'children'.

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_**So... how was that chapter? I hope you liked it~~~ :) How was the tykiXallen moment? and yeah i know it was like SUPER short. sorry~ i love poker pair~ :) And by the time you are done with this... you are probably going to be cursing at those townspeople that were beating up Allen and some of you will probably be wanting the Noah family to beat them up... :) hehe. well... you will find out what happens to them later in the story. *evil grin* What happened to Allen later anyways? Road sort of never bothered to find out... well. not really, she was just too occupied with Allen's 'guardian'. I mean... suddenly you find a 'guardian' that is sort of like a Bookman? yeah... you are going to be thinking about it. :) You will find out what happened to Allen after that... sooner or later... **_

_**And wow... I spent like... 7 chapters on like the first 12 hours of Allen's meeting with the Noahs... I was going to start moving on with this chapter... but no, the story just wouldn't let me do that. I will probably start moving on with Allen's first day at the Noahs next chapter... and hopefully I will not be stuck in the first 36 hours of Allen's stay with the Noahs. :P but I don't want to rush my story, so I am just going to take it wherever my story (and my mind) takes me. :) **_

_**btw, I am going to have some descriptions of the characters posted on my profile's "~In the Closet~" later... first I will release the story though. And the poll is just going to go on for another chapter because I am too lazy and tired to close it for now.. :) so... here's the question: "What should the 14th's name be?"**_

**_1) Julius/Jules_**

**_2) Nicholas_**

**_(sorry if those two choices aren't your cup of tea. :) but anyways... please VOTE on the poll that's on my profile... it's the same poll. It will just take 1 minute tops! Thanks!)_**

_**Well since you guys probably want this chapter already, I am just going to stop here and release the chapter already... :) And REMEMBER! I am a REVIEW lover~! so if you want your next chapter written and released faster? drop me a REVIEW, would ya? Thanks! I hope you enjoyed my chapter~~**_

_**~Zen **_


	8. Chapter 08: The Family

_**A/N: Special thanks to: AnonymousShadowReader1, Shadow of a Life, The White Wander, dgm-mega fan, cute-nina, kazza-spexy, p3paula, Panda-Hiroko, Peculiar Top Hat, Sachiel Angelo, Gothicgirl12, Saisaici - The Helper, and Tendencies~! That was 13 reviews! I am SO happy~ *happy dance* It's the highest amount of reviews I have had on a chapter... yet~! Hopefully more of you will be posting me a review in the upcoming chapters coz you should know by now, I am a review freak~ And I have a tendency to write faster when I have reviews and know that readers are waiting for me to update! Which is why I spend like... a long time each day writing my chapters, and plus, it's fun. :) I must also thank those are have reviewed and favorited my story. :) If you put my story on your story alert list? You deserve tons of thanks as well.**_

_**Well, I will apologize for the slightly late update... This chapter took me a little while to write b/c I didn't really know what I was going to write in this chapter so I had to think from scratch... and I had trouble going to sleep last night and so I slept in 'today'. But... better late than never. :) And you should read the end note.. there's something that you readers might want to know... :)**_

_**This chapter is mostly just a transitional chapter and it's pretty light. B/c I think I might have darkened my past chapters a little too much... coz like every previous chapter had SOME sort of darkness in it... and this chapter included. :) But in my opinion, it's pretty light compared to all the rest of the chapters previous to this... heh. **_

_**I have sort of planned out the next chapter and did I mention that I have FINALLY decided the pairings for this story? Main pairing is going to be Poker Pair and it's going to be on the sweet side for a while. Tyki is NOT going to make a move for at least 2 chapters, this chapter included. WHY? Because I don't think even Tyki is 'pedophile' enough to start making a move on a 10/11 year old boy... don't you agree? And he's not going to be realizing that he likes Allen in that way... yet. :) There might also be some allenXroad pairing in my story. :) Both Road and Tyki are declaring that Allen is his or hers... so there will prob be a little 'sibling'/'uncle-niece' rivalry. :) I am not sure about the one-sided Yullen. I might include some just to spice things up with Tyki... and Road... *evil smile* Did I also mention that i finally had Tyki as the Character 2 in my story? well, now I did. :) it's official now. XD**_

_**Anyways... without further ado... I think it's time i just let you read my new chapter... :) **_

_**Did I mention that the last 2/5 of the story is just basically Poker Pair moment... until someone interrupts... hehe. I wonder who that someone is. XD **_

_**ENJOY~! **_

* * *

**Chapter 08 – The Family**

* * *

Allen was seated at a long rectangular table filled with a serving of breakfast in front of everyone that was present at the table, except for Allen, who had a mountain of plates filled with food beside where his breakfast should have been. He was seated on the left side of the Earl; Road was seated across from him with a black-haired female next her whom Allen had just met this morning; Debitto was on the female Noah's right and Jasdero was on Debitto's right; Tyki was sitting next to Allen and a bulky Noah whom Allen remembered from this morning was seated two seats from from Tyki.

**~Flashback Starts~**

After the rest of the Noahs left Allen's room, Road went into Allen's clothes closet and came back out with a white dress shirt, black vest, red ribbon, black dress pants and a pair of black shoes.

"R-road, where did you get those clothes?" Allen asked as he looked wide-eyed at the clothing in Road's hands.

"I went late-night shopping yesterday. By the way, the room I just went into is your clothing closet. Tyki and I are going to bring you out to go clothes shopping in a few days so you can pick out some more clothes that you would like to wear," Road said as she walked towards Allen and dumped the clothes on his anticipating arms.

"I am?" Tyki asked with surprise and Road just gave him an I-dare-you-to-not-come look and was about to reply, but then Allen started speaking.

"C-closet? S-shopping?" Allen asked with uncertainty and wider eyes, he had never had a closet for clothes before and now he is going to have a ROOM to use as his clothing closet? To say Allen was shocked would have been an understatement.

"Yes, that's right. _Tyki_ and I are going to bring you clothes shopping later, don't know when though. Now get into the bathroom and change," Road said as she turned Allen around and started pushing him towards the bathroom.

"O-okay…" Allen said as Road opened the bathroom door and pushed Allen in.

"Take a shower and clean yourself up while you are at it," Road said as she closed the door.

**~Flashback Ends~**

_The clothes that Road had given me are really comfortable. I should thank her later, _Allen noted with a smile. After the shower which felt very nice and refreshing, Allen had gone back out fully dressed with the red ribbon in hand. Road glomped on him saying how adorable he looked, making Allen blush. When Road saw the ribbon in his hand, she helped Allen put it on and told him it's time to go eat.

"Now that we have all arrived, my dear children, I think it's time we introduced ourselves to the newest addition of the family. Don't you think? Let's start with myself. I am the Millennium Earl and I am the head of this family," the Earl announced, bring Allen back to reality.

"I am Road Kamelot, the Noah of Dreams," Road said cheerfully with a smile.

"I am Lulu Belle, the Noah of Lust. You can call me Lulubelle, my original first name. I just started using Belle as my last name after I became a Noah," Lulubelle introduced with a small smile, all traces of previous hostility gone. Allen's eyes widened when he heard her name, _so she's Lulubelle_.

"We are Debitto―"

"―and Jasdero!"

"And together we are Jasdevi!" Jasdero and Debitto said completely in sync as they pointed their guns at each other's head and broke into a fit of laughter while Allen just stared at them with surprise-filled eyes.

"We are the Noah of Bonds and you can also call me Devit," Debitto told Allen when they finished laughing and Allen replied with an uneasy nod.

"My name is Tyki Mikk and I am the Noah of Pleasure," Tyki said with a smile as she looked at Allen.

"I am Skin Boric and I am the Noah of Wrath. I love sweets and I don't eat anything that is not sweet," Skin said and went back to eating the dessert he was eating.

_Sweets and wrath, huh. What an interesting combination_, Allen thought to himself with a smile.

"There's also one more Noah that has been reincarnated, but he's busy right now so he can't make it here," Road said with a smile before continuing, "His name is Cyril Kamelot and he is my father. He's also the minister of Portugal and the Noah of Desires."

"F-father? Minister of Portugal?" Allen asked with shock and disbelief. _Road is the daughter of the minister of Portugal?_ Allen thought.

"Cyril isn't Road's biological father, he adopted her. And yeah, he's the minister of Portugal," Tyki said with an amused smile as he watched Allen's expression.

"And he is also Tyki's _biological_ _older brother_," Road added with a slightly evil smirk and clearly taking pleasure in Tyki's stiffening and twitch when he heard what Road had said.

"Tyki is the _brother_ of the _minister_ of Portugal? And doesn't that mean Tyki is your uncle?" Allen asked with eyes that widened even more, not noticing Tyki's stiffening and twitch, while the rest of the Noahs just watched with an amused smile, even Skin stopped eating his dessert to watch.

"Yup~! Tyki is my _dear_ uncle~!" Road said cheerfully with a devious smirk as Tyki winced at the word, '_dear_'.

"…anything else I should know about?" Allen asked carefully.

"The Noahs have at least five mansions all over Europe and that's just Europe. And Millennie is _really_ an Earl," Road said joyfully with a thoughtful look on her face and tapped her chin with her finger. Allen just looked at her and then the Earl, who was happily watching the situation before him with his ever-present grin, in amazement.

"And did I mention that the Noahs basically control all of Japan?" Road added like it was nothing.

"WHAT?" Allen shouted in shock as his attention snapped back to Road and muttered under his breath, "Holy cow, how did I end up with this filthy rich family?"

Road just smiled at Allen as he processed everything in his mind.

"I think it's about time we started breakfast. The food will get cold soon," the Earl said cheerfully and Allen's eyes lit up, everything that he had just learned forgotten.

"The let's start~! The Earl announced after everyone had their eyes on him.

Allen instantly dug into his food and enjoyed the tastiness of his food while _everyone_ in the family, except the Earl, Road and Tyki, just watched the boy in amazement as he plowed through the mountain of food beside him. They had all wondered why there was such a large mountain of food beside the boy when they walked in and now, they partly understood why. The Earl, Road and Tyki were just eating their meal like everything was _normal_ with Tyki glancing at the boy every now and then. Tyki was still getting used to the boy's appetite, but he wasn't really that bothered by it.

_Where does all that food go?_ Tyki wondered as he took a bite of his eggs from his fork.

Within minutes, Allen had finished all of his food and he had a satisfied smile on his face as he looked up at his new family. The Earl, Road and Tyki were about done with their breakfast while the rest of the family was still looking at Allen in chock and wonder.

A blush crept up Allen's cheek when he noticed them watching him, "Sorry, I eat a lot…"

Jasdero and Debitto gulped uneasily and Debitto said with a nervous laugh, "Hehe… we can see that…"

"W-where does all that good go though?" Jasdero asked unsurely speaking the thought on everyone's mind.

Allen scratched his head uneasily and said with a nervous laugh, "Well my Innocence is a parasite-type and the food was really good. "

Jasdevi and Lulubelle nodded in understanding and everyone silently agreed.

"Wait… but how do you know you have a parasite-type Innocence?" Debitto suddenly asked and everyone perked up, expecting an answer from Allen, who had twitched slightly at the question.

"A General I met when I was younger told me about it, she also started training me a little too," Allen said with a sad look in his eyes and looked down.

"But I thought it was your first activation when you met the Earl?" Lulubelle asked.

"It wasn't." Allen said guiltily.

"Allen-kun… I have been wondering about this. How come you didn't seem to know anything about exorcists and akumas when you and I first met, but now you seem very knowledgeable?" The Earl asked, speaking Road's unspoken thought.

"I am not really sure how and why, but after a particular incident where I was badly beaten, I woke up in a white room and didn't remember anything except my name and that this necklace is very important to me and given to me by my grandmother, Sylvia, who I didn't remember anything about at that time. The doctors assumed I got amnesia and then released me once I got better. They also said I didn't need to pay for my bills. However, when my Innocence activated last night and killed Mana, my memories just suddenly rushed back to me and I remembered everything," Allen explained with a sad smile and took hold of the necklace that he was wearing underneath his shirt at its mention.

_That incident must be that incident Road had told me about earlier_, Tyki thought. Once Allen had started the shower, Tyki had asked Road to tell him everything she saw in Allen's dream world and what the nightmare was about. Road did just that and when she was done, Tyki was in dismay and surprise. _Allen is special, huh. And how could those townspeople do such a thing to my shounen. I swear I will get them soon_, Tyki remembered thinking when Road was finished

"Interesting…" the Earl remarked with a thoughtful look, interrupting Tyki's thought and flashback.

"I guess that will make your training easier for Road and me," Tyki said with a smile, trying to brighten up his shounen.

"Training?" Allen asked with curiosity as he tilted his head to the side and looked at Tyki,

"Yes, fighting training and Innocence training. Speaking of which, when will we begin those. Earl?" Tyki said and looked at the Earl.

"After Allen fully settles in," the Earl replied.

"Tyki! Let's show Allen around the house~!" Road said with a cheerful smile as she got off her seat and bounced over to Allen and Tyki.

"Alright," Tyki said as he got up and reached a hand out to Allen, "Let's go, shounen."

* * *

It's been a week since Allen had started staying with the Noahs and several things had been decided. First, Allen would be adopted into the Kamelot family and become Road's brother. Road was apparently the same age as Allen in the human world and Allen had a hard time believing that since Road looked like she was 15 or 16. Road had laughed and changed into her human form, which was a ten-year-old version of Road. Allen was shocked and asked Road what happened. Road told him that humans would get suspicious if she didn't age, so she took the human form of an aging child until she reaches her twenties in the human world. Allen then nodded understandingly and asked her about the Kamelot family since he has yet met Road's father and mother, whom he learned was named Tricia.

Second, it's also been decided that Allen is going to be home-schooled by Road's teacher and this schooling is going to drag on even through the summer this year because Road's teacher wants to have Allen caught up to Road by the start of fall. Allen will be taught on the days that Road doesn't have classes, which is Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday until the summer. During the summer, he will have school on Monday through Friday. Road wasn't too thrilled by the idea of not having Allen as a companion during the summer, but the Earl reassured her that she will only have to wait a summer, then she will be able to be homeschooled alongside Allen and do her homework with Allen as well. Road instantly cheered up and went off to find Allen.

Third, Allen's Innocence training with Tyki will start in a month and it will take place on the days that Allen don't have school, excluding Sunday, and Road will join them when she is done with school herself. Allen was thrilled by the idea of being able to train under Tyki, he was already growing really fond of the man. When he heard of this arrangement, Allen asked the Earl the problem that was lingering on his mind, "Then when will I have time to do homework? And what about the summer?"

The Earl ensured him that he will have enough time to do homework at night and that he will only have Innocence training on Saturdays in the summer since by then, Allen should be pretty adapt to it. The Earl had also given him a book about the full history of the Noahs at Allen's request and Allen gratefully thanked him.

Allen was currently in his room reading the book that he had gotten on the new black sofa that Road got him. He was already halfway through the book and he is very intrigued by it, reading it whenever he got time.

"Shounen~ I am back~" A voice said coming from behind Allen. Recognizing the voice instantly, Allen hurriedly placed his bookmark in his book before closing it and dropping it on the couch. Allen shot up and ran towards the tanned man who was at the door.

"Tyki! I missed you!" Allen said with excitement as he threw his arms around the neck of the kneeling man, who was anticipating Allen's move.

"Shounen, I missed you too," Tyki said as he wrapped his arms around Allen's back and picked him up.

"How have you been, Tyki?" Allen asked as he nuzzled his face into the crook of Tyki's shoulder. Tyki had told him that he needed to take care of some business three days ago and Allen was, of course, unhappy about Tyki's departure.

"Been missing you too much," Tyki said truthfully with a smile, enjoying the feel of Allen's nuzzling and Allen in his arms. He had to drop a visit to his human friends and informed them of his upcoming long absence.

"Same. Oh yeah… Millennie told me that I am going to start living in the Kamelot household in three days, on Saturday," Allen said with a tinge of sadness.

"And did the Earl tell you that I am also going to move in as well?" Tyki asked with a grin anticipating Allen's expected reaction.

"Really?" Allen instantly perked up and leaned back to look at Tyki with eyes filled with hope and happiness.

"Yes. I used the excuse of "It would make my life hell easier if I didn't have to travel to the Kamelot household every other day'," Tyki said with a chuckle as he walked over to the sofa with Allen still in his arms.

Allen let out a laugh as Tyki sat down and Allen shifted so that he was sitting on Tyki's lap and facing Tyki.

"Cyril was overjoyed when he heard that I was moving into his house and so was Road. How wonderful. I hope I won't be seeing too much of Cyril and hopefully, he will be busy with work…" Tyki said good-naturedly with a slight shiver.

Allen just laughed again and asked, "Why are you avoiding your brother so much anyways?"

"Because he dotes on me too much? I am twenty-one already and he is _still_ doting on me like I am twelve," Tyki explained with a sigh.

"Twenty-one, huh. Are you really just twenty-one?" Allen asked with a small smile.

"No, I guess not… but I am just off by a few years. I have been a Noah for 20 years already," Tyki said with a thoughtful look while Allen sweat-dropped.

"Tyki…" Allen began, "20 years is **not** a few years, seriously. Even I know that much. Wait, how old were you when you became a Noah?"

"I think I was around 12 or 13? Don't really remember," Tyki replied with a shrug.

"Okay…but…11 years is **still** not a few years!" Allen said with an exasperated sigh.

"It is to us Noahs. If we wanted, we can live eternally, as long as we aren't hunted down by Innocence or namely, exorcists. We are practically immortal, I mean, we have regenerating powers that instantly heals any wounds we get. Remember about Adam?" Tyki said with a sad smile and Allen nodded, "Adam has lived for so long already, maybe 10,000 years already."

Allen nodded again in understanding and slight sadness. He realized what Tyki was saying, 11 years really was just a few years compared to how long the Noahs can live. Allen then realized something else, humans only have 100 years to live at the most and he wasn't even a normal human, he was parasite-type Innocence-wielder, meaning he had even less time to live, maybe 60 years at most. Allen was already ten years into life.

_There will only be 50 more years before I leave this world… 50 more years of being with Tyki and the rest of the Noahs…_ Allen thought to himself as a sad look fell over his face.

"What's wrong, shounen?" Tyki asked worriedly, noticing Allen's look of sadness.

"Nothing," Allen said quickly as he tried to hide his sadness with a smile, not wanting to show his insecurities to Tyki.

"I know it's not nothing. Tell me, shounen. The fact that you are not telling me and trying to hide it only highlights that," Tyki said gently as he watched Allen, Allen cringed slightly at how easily Tyki saw through his lie.

"I was just thinking about what you said. Then I realized that the most time I have left with you and the rest of the Noahs is 50 years. And that 50 years is only if I don't catch any disease or sickness that will end in my death," Allen told Tyki reluctantly and looked down, suddenly finding his fidgeting hands very interesting.

Tyki understood what the boy was saying and was saddened by what his shounen said, but he knew the boy was feeling twice as sad. Tyki gently tightened his hold on Allen and pulled the boy in an embrace. Allen was slightly surprised by Tyki's gesture, but he just snuggled closer to Tyki and laid his head over Tyki's chest, listening to Tyki's calming heartbeat.

_This boy makes me feel so human_, Tyki thought as he laid his head on top of the boy's soft white hair. The boy stayed like that for a few minutes, enjoying the other's touch and warmth, before Allen spoke up, "Who is Adam in this family?"

Tyki chuckled a little and Allen enjoyed the vibration of the chest that the chuckling caused. "Adam is the Earl."

"Ah… I guess that makes sense," Allen said with a chuckle of his own.

"Hm, what book were you reading?" Tyki asked the boy as his eyes spared the book that was sitting on the sofa a glance.

"The history of Noah and his descendants, the Noahs," Allen replied with a small smile as his arms wrapped around Tyki's neck while his head stayed on Tyki's chest.

Tyki was a little surprised at the boy's answer and action, but it was a pleasant surprise. "How did you get hold of it?"

"I asked the Earl for it," Allen said as he snuggled even closer to Tyki.

"Makes sense. How do you like it?" Tyki said with a smile.

"I like it a lot. Road was getting annoyed because all I would do is read this book whenever I had any free time," Allen said with a smile while Tyki just laughed.

"I bet she wasn't happy."

"She wasn't. But then I promised her I would play with her later and she perked up. And then she said she was going to find the twins."

"I bet the twins had _lots_ of fun with her," Tyki said sarcastically with a smirk.

Allen just laughed and said, "I bet they did. At least Road doesn't play with me like that."

"If she did, I would have made sure she doesn't approach within ten feet of you."

"Then I kind of wish she did."

"Huh? Why?" Tyki asked with surprise.

"Because then that means you would always be by my side and never leave me," Allen said with a sad smile and his hold around Tyki's neck tightened slightly.

Tyki's face pulled into a sad smile and his eyes clouded with guilt and sorrow, "I am sorry, shounen."

"It's okay, as long as you are here now."

Tyki's hold on Allen tightened and his heart was aching at what Allen had said.

"Allen~! Allen~!" A cheerful voice called out as its source soon appeared at Allen's door, "Hi, Tyki! You are back!"

"Hi, Road. What brings you here?" Tyki greeted with a smile as he lifted his head to look at Road with annoyance, displeased that Road had interrupted his and his shounen's time together.

"I've come to pick Allen up to play! Let's go Allen!" Road said with a smile that was way_ too_ innocent, not showing even a hint of guilt.

"Alright, Road," Allen said with a small smile as he loosened his hold on Tyki and got off of Tyki before asking him with a sweet smile, "Will you be sleeping with me tonight, Tyki?"

"Of course I will," Tyki replied with a smile and was gloating inside.

* * *

**_So... how was that chapter? enjoyed the Poker Pair moments? Hope you did. It was sorta sweet yet sad, in my opinion. And yeah... Tyki basically isn't making a move on Allen... don't get any... 'thoughts' about Tyki sleeping with Allen. *chuckle* I just HAD to add that in, okay? Road also just HAD to interrupt. XD I wonder what Road did with Jasdevi... :P Btw... Tyki haven't punished the twins yet, but he hasn't forgotten. *evil smirk* _**

**_This chapter was just as I said before, a transitional chapter... therefore, the lack of action. Allen finally settles in with the Noah family and is already super attached to Tyki. :) I mainly chose to have Allen live with the Kamelot because I felt that Allen needed education and I wanted the bond between Allen and Road... and Tyki to grow even more deeper. Allen is also going to sort of develop the father-daughter relationship Road has with Cyril, except this will be a father-son relationship. :P Allen has such a full schedule! And yeah, Road only has school every other day, because or else, how is she going to have fun and have time to do her homework AND Noah duties? :)_**

**_Lulu is not hostile of Allen anymore b/c she was awakened by Road's 'scolding' on how she was judging Allen base on what he couldn't control and not who he is, Lulu is also going to grow fond of the boy b/c the boy reminds her of the 14th. HM... I WONDER WHY. :P But she doesn't just grow fond of him b/c of that... she grows fond of him b/c of the way he acts and looks... :) _**

**_anyways... here's the news that I mentioned... I might not be able to post a chapter over the weekend... b/c I think I am going to a little shopping 'tomorrow'(which is actually later today), and I don't know when I will be able to write... even though I already have my next chapter planned out. Then on Sunday... July 4th... I think I am going to watch a movie in the 'afternoon' and then i am definitely going to have some fun with fireworks at night. XD fireworks are SO much fun~~ XD So sorry if I really don't update over the weekend... but I will TRY my best to at least update once! I already have the next chapter mostly planned out anyways. And yeah... there's going to be bloodshed. XD XD XD hehehe. *evil smile* _**

**_Hopefully I will be able to update AT LEAST once over this weekend... :) _**

**_Next chapter (I have decided to let you have a sneak peek at what the next chapter has in case I really don't update):_**

* * *

**Chapter 09 - The Surprise**

It's been almost a year since Allen has started staying with the Noahs and tonight, the Earl and the Kamelot family had decided to hold a ball for Allen for his birthday. It was also a Christmas Ball, because well, today was Christmas. They were going to celebrate the first moments of his birthday with him along with everyone else who was at the ball. Allen felt happy and was overjoyed. The Noahs had already given him his Christmas presents and he had loved them all, especially Tyki's. Tyki didn't buy him anything special, it was just ordinary looking ring that was made of silver, but inside the ring carved the word _shounen_ in beautiful scripted handwriting. It might not be special to other people, but it was the most special thing Allen had ever gotten besides the locket necklace Sylvia gave him before she died. Tyki also made the promise that he would be away less often and Allen's heart warmed at that. Allen promised that he would always wear the ring and Tyki just smiled a dazzling smile.

Allen was looking at the ring fondly when he remembered what Road had told him before the ball had started.

"For your birthday present, our whole family has planned a surprise for you that we are sure you will love." Road had said mysteriously with a smile before she skipped towards the Millennium Earl. Allen had been very intrigued by what Road said and wondered what kind of surprise it was going to be.

* * *

**_Okay... that's it... that's all I am going to let you see. :P Actually I just wrote all that on the spot and didn't bother to go back and read through it, so there might be some typos and changes later on. Aw. Isn't Tyki sweet? :) I wonder what surprise Road and the Noahs has in stored for Allen? Well you will find out next chapter. :P_**

**_Btw... it's been almost a year, so yeah Allen has changed... next chapter's Allen is probably going to be different than the previous chapters. :) He has grown more human-hating and sadistic. :P but mind you, he is still the same sweet and 'innocent' Allen with the Noahs, particularly Tyki and Road. :)_**

**_I think that is enough 'talking' for now, don't you? Well then see you next chapter._**

**_~Zen_**


	9. Chapter 09: The Surprise

_**A/N: Special thanks to: GothicGirl12, Shadow of a Life, ErzaScarlet14, -Pon, kazza-spexy, The White Wanderer, AnonymousShadowReader1, cute-nina, Tendencies, XxXxSeriously InjuredxXxX, Peculiar Top hat, Panda-Hiroko, Sachiel Angelo, dgm-mega fan, and lemonlimediddies! You guys are Seriously awesome! 15 reviews for the last chapter~~~~~ so happy~~~~~ and now my story has reached 80 reviews~~ super duper happy about that~ Anyways. Thanks for everyone who has reviewed, favorited and/or put my story on your story alert list, coz those three things seriously make me SUPER happy. :) You guys are the ones that motivate me to write. :) And if you haven't dropped a review? Drop me one already~ please?**_

_**OMG~~~~~~~~ I finally updated... it's been 5-6 days since I last updated. I am so sorry~~~ O.o I do feel bad for not updating for almost a week. I didn't really have any writer mood this weekend and I was busy. So then I started writing on Monday... and then soon... the chapter dragged on... :P I don't know what happened, this story just wrote on its own... and I wanted to make up for not updating for nearly a week, so I decided to have a SUPER long chapter... coz guess what? This chapter was nearly 20,000 words! So just a warning... if you don't have a lot of time... wait till later to read it. :) This chapter took me a while to write and then proofread... but I was super happy b/c of how many reviews i got and all of you guys' support... which made me motivated to continue. :) You guys are seriously awesome, btw~**_

_**And... WARNING: I, for some reason, really like using the 'hell' word, so yeah. you are going to see quite a few in this chapter. :) and a few other swear words I guess. would 'damn' be considered one? no idea. whatever. Oh and Yaoi warning.. **_

**_Since this has been decided to be a Poker Pair fanfic, I do have a few Poker Pair moments in this chapter. I hope you guys will like this chapter... coz it cost me... a lot of time and 20,000 words. XD This is the longest chapter I have written... yet. :) But don't expect future chapters to be as long as this, coz it's probably not going to be... Sorry~_**

**_ENJOY~~_**

* * *

**Chapter 09 – The Surprise**

* * *

It's been almost a year since Allen has started staying with the Noahs. Allen has grown closer to everyone in his new family, especially Road and Tyki. Lulubelle has become something like a mother and older-sister figure to him, always watching over him silently with affectionate eyes and offering comfort whenever he needed it. Skin Boric usually kept to himself, like he did with the rest of the family, but whenever he saw the boy, he would always offer Allen some type of sweets; Allen knew it was just Skin's way of showing his affections and Allen always loved the sweets that he got. Jasdevi were always the mischievous and up-to-no-good ones in the family, but even when playing with Allen, they would be caring and affectionate, careful to not hurt their youngest little brother. Road has always been playful and easily bored, but whenever she was with Allen, she was never bored, even when he is just reading or doing homework. Tyki…well, Tyki was just Tyki, but he was _always_ gentle and caring when he was with the Allen. Even the Earl had a soft spot for Allen, whenever Allen got hurt, which was rarely because of the protective members of his family, the Earl would get overly-worried and whoever caused that injury, unless it was Allen's own 'clumsiness', that person tend to have dreadful fate.

Even though Allen has lived on the streets or locked up most of his life, Allen was such a bright child that he had easily caught up with Road in her studies and was done with school by mid-summer. Road was, of course, ecstatic since she can now hang out with Allen and play with him. Allen was a little startled at first that their teacher was a human, but then Cyril explained that if it were an akuma, it was very likely that Road was going to use her Noah powers to influence the akuma and so, it was safer and much more beneficial for the teacher to be human.

At the Earl's encouragement, Allen also started learning how to play the piano and violin. When he first played, his teacher was shocked and questioned Allen whether he was really a first-timer or not. When Allen blushed and nodded, the teacher joyfully exclaimed that he was a music prodigy. When the Earl got hold of the news, he requested Allen to play for the family and since Allen couldn't possibly refuse, he chose Canon in D Major by Pachelbel, his favorite classical piece and played it on both the violin and piano. At the end of his performance, the Noahs were blown away by his beautiful music.

Allen's Innocence training had also gone well, Tyki and Road didn't just train his Innocence, they also trained Allen's agility, speed, acrobatics, strength, endurance and battle techniques. Even when it's not Allen's Innocence training day, Allen has to continue working on every single area covered by his Innocence training every single day. But because of that, Allen has extraordinary abilities and even without having the special abilities that the Noahs have, Allen is still able to fight on par with the Noahs and can sometimes even overpower his opponent. The Noahs and the Earl were very pleased with how well Allen was doing. If Allen was going to aid them in their war against the exorcists and the Order, and Allen was dead insist on it no matter how much the Noahs were against it, Allen needed to have above-normal fighting abilities or else he would have a hard time against the exorcists and the Noahs didn't want Allen to get hurt and be able to defend himself easily.

Tonight, the Earl and the Kamelot family had decided to hold a ball for Allen for his birthday. How they knew when Allen's birthday was, he questioned but didn't receive any answer. It was also a Christmas Ball, because well, today was Christmas. They were going to celebrate the first moments of his birthday with him along with everyone else who was at the ball. Allen felt happy and was overjoyed. The Noahs had already given him his Christmas presents and he had loved them all, especially Tyki's.

Tyki didn't buy him anything special; it was just an ordinary looking ring that was made of pure silver, but inside the ring carved the word _shounen_ in beautiful scripted handwriting. It might not be special to other people, but it was the most special thing Allen had ever gotten besides the locket necklace Sylvia gave him before she died. Tyki also made the promise that he would be away less often and be with Allen as much as possible. Allen's heart instantly warmed at the promise and threw his arms around Tyki, giving said man a hug and a grateful smile that was filled with happiness. In return, Allen promised that he would always wear the ring and Tyki just smiled a dazzling smile as he wrapped his arms around the boy.

Allen was looking at the ring fondly when he remembered what Road had told him before the ball had started:

"For your birthday present, our whole family has planned a surprise for you that we are sure you will love." Road had said mysteriously with a smile before she skipped towards the Millennium Earl. Allen had been very intrigued by what Road said and wondered what kind of surprise it was going to be.

_'What could this surprise possibly be...'_ Allen thought as an idea started to form inside his head. He lifted his head and looked around for the target in mind. '_There he is…'_ Allen's target was leaning against the railing and watching the scene below him

Allen silently slipped across the carpeted floor towards his target and when he was sure that his target didn't notice him, he prepared himself and jump-glomped his target's back as he said cheerfully, "Father~!"

"Ah!" Allen's "father" yelled out in surprise and when his recognition system kicked in, he called out affectionately, "Oh it's you, Allen. You surprised me."

"Yay! I have a question, father," Allen said as he used his hands and feet to shift himself so that he was hanging off of Cyril's front instead.

"What is it, son?" Cyril said with a smile and his face was beaming with happiness. Ever since he had adopted Allen into his dear family, he had grown very fond of the boy and treated him just like Road.

"Can you please tell me what the surprise the family has planned for me?" Allen said as he looked at Cyril with an expectant face that was very hard to refuse. Tyki and Road's training didn't just teach him things related to fighting, they had also covered the ability to act, have a poker face, how to lie smoothly and the body language. At this moment, Allen was very glad that they had taught him those stuff.

"I am sorry, but it's a surprise, so I can't tell you," Cyril said as he looked away from Allen's eyes and his heart wretched at the way the boy's face had fallen when he heard his father's reply, but it couldn't be helped.

"Why not? Don't you love me anymore, father?" Allen asked with sadness-filled eyes and Cyril's eyes instantly snapped back to face Allen's in surprise.

When Cyril saw the boy's eyes, his heart was aching and without hesitation he said, "Of course I love you, Allen!"

"Then… then why won't you tell me?" Allen asked as his eyes began filling with crocodile tears and he inwardly smirked at how well his plan was working.

"Be-because…" Cyril was speechless and his heart ached even more as Allen's eyes filled up with tears.

"F-father, please?" Allen begged as he looked at his father's eyes pleadingly. The look in his eyes could easily break anyone's resolve and no one in the family has been able to not fall victim to those eyes.

"Al-alright, I will tell you, but don't let the others know I told you, okay?" Cyril said with a defeated sigh as his resolve to keep the surprise a secret from Allen disappeared completely.

"Thank you. I love you, father! Tell me~" Allen said as his eyes lit up and his face was filled with expectance and happiness. Cyril's eyes filled with love when Allen said those words and his inside was filled with warmth.

"Your father is so happy! Now… the surprise is―" Cyril began with a big smile as Allen started doing a winning dance inwardly.

"CYRIL!" But then an all-too-familiar voice interrupted both Allen's dance and what Cyril was saying. Allen's eyes immediately snapped to fiercely glare at the voice's source.

"Cyril… what is going on?" Tyki asked as he backed away a little from the fierceness of Allen's glare. And Cyril immediately snapped back to 'reality' and realized just what he was about to do.

"Sorry Allen, I can't tell you," Cyril said with an apologetic smile as Allen's eyes filled up with crocodile tears once again and Cyril's resolve began crumbling once again.

Tyki immediately understood what just happened and sighed with exasperation before he said, "Allen just almost persuaded you to tell him what the surprise was, didn't he? If I hadn't interrupted when I did, then the cat would have been out of the bag, wouldn't it?"

Cyril slightly winced at how easily Tyki figured out what happened and turned to face Tyki, about to answer Allen said three words that pierced through his heart and his blood went cold. His face filled with shock and his eyes widened as his head slowly moved back to face Allen. The boy's face was streaming with tears and his eyes were filled with hurt and sadness, making Cyril's heart break even more. "I hate you, father," the boy sobbed quietly, so that only Cyril could hear what he said once more.

"Allen―" Cyril began as he felt like his heart was starting to stop beating.

"I hate you, father." The boy whispered a third time as he looked up to meet Cyril's eyes, to make sure what he said went through Cyril completely. "I hate you."

Tyki was looking at the father and son in interest and confusion, wondering what was going on between those two. Tyki had seen that flash of shock and hurt in Cyril's eyes before Cyril turned back to face Allen and he could see that Allen was saying something to Cyril, but he couldn't read or hear what the boy was saying. Suddenly, Allen turned his face to look at Tyki and he mouthed five words that completely shattered Tyki's heart into pieces and made Tyki's blood run cold.

"I hate you too, Tyki," Allen mouthed once more as his sadness-and-hurt-filled eyes looked into Tyki's eyes. When Allen got the reaction that he wanted, he released himself from Cyril's hold and crumbled against the railing with eyes staring into Tyki's. Cyril was still frozen from what Allen had said and Tyki was starting to freeze up as well as Allen's eyes continued to stare into his, sucking him into the silver abyss.

Inwardly, Allen was annoyed at Tyki for interrupting his almost success and he was smirking that he got the desired reactions from Tyki and Cyril, he sort of felt bad for them, but it wasn't enough for Allen to rescue those two from the heartbreaking.

Something in Cyril unsnapped and then he ran towards Tyki with opened arms and eyes that were beginning to stream tears. "TYKI!" Cyril cried out as tears started to pour down his face.

When Cyril threw his arms around Tyki's back and started sobbing, Tyki began to unfreeze and broke the eye contact he had with Allen. "What the hell! Get off of me!" Tyki yelled in annoyance, but he was still too shaken from Allen's words to do anything.

"But dear Allen said he hated me. FOUR TIMES, Tyki! He said he hated me four times!" Cyril sobbed into Tyki's now-wet dress coat.

"Cyril! Get off! You are making my dress coat soaking wet!" Tyki exclaimed as he looked at his brother whose tears seem to never end. Tyki switched his gaze back to the white-haired boy and he found the boy was still looking at him, but the boy's eyes seemed dull.

"Tyki~ Father~" A cheerful voice called from behind Tyki making Allen look up to the voice's source. Road came into view in her knee-length pink and white corset bodice dress with ruffles and when she saw the scene before her, her eyes narrowed and the wheels began turning in her head. A shock-filled, sobbing father that was against Tyki's shoulders; Tyki who looked like he was frozen to his spot and the end of the world had come; and Allen who was sitting by the railing and tears were flowing out of his red and puffy eyes.

"What happened?" Road asked as she approached the scene. Hearing his daughter's voice, Cyril instantly ran off with his arms out towards Road.

"Road! My dear daughter! Allen has been being mean!" Cyril cried out as he flung his arms around Road. Road wrapped her arms around her father in an attempt to comfort him and make him stop sobbing.

"Father, please don't get my dress dirty. I rather like this dress. But how has Allen been being mean?" Road looked up to meet Allen's eyes and was instantly sucked into them.

"R-road!" Allen called out as Road's eyes met his and he inwardly smirked.

"A-allen told me he hated me!" Cyril said as he sobbed even harder, his heart hurting as he said those icicle-like words.

"R-road, father wouldn't tell me what my surprise is," Allen cried out as he increased the amount of crocodile tears flowing out of his eyes and the depth of sadness and hurt in his eyes.

"Father!" Road instantly blamed Cyril for the look in Allen's eyes and her heart was aching at the sight before her.

"B-but! It's a surprise! And **you** especially told us to not leak a word to Allen!" Cyril cried out. At this new revelation, Allen narrowed his eyes and looked at Road accusingly.

Road began filling with guilt and looked away from Allen's accusing eyes. "R-road, how could you?"

"Al-allen! Father, let go!" Road said as she squirmed out of her father's grasp and ran over to Allen, flinging her arms around him when she reached him. "I know you will just love your surprise, so just wait a little longer, okay?"

"F-fine. I love you, Road," Allen whispered as he snuggled in Road's embrace and decided that this was enough for now and he should probably end his façade.

Even though Allen whispered those four words to Road, Tyki had heard it, loud and clear, and started glaring at Road's head. Feeling a murderous aura near him, Allen looked up and inwardly smirked at the expression on Tyki's face. Road had also felt the sudden drop in temperature and turned a little so that she could see what was happening behind her from the corner of her eyes. When she saw the look on Tyki's face, her face pulled up into a devious smirk and wrapped her arms tighter around the boy. "I love you too, Allen."

At once, the temperature dropped another feel degrees and Allen suppressed a shudder that was about to go through him.

"I love you two too!" A joyful voice cheered before the voice's source wrapped his two children in a bear-hug.

"Father… ca-can't … breath!" Allen said as he struggled to get out of Cyril's grasp.

"Oh! Oops!" Cyril giggled and lightened the grasp he had on his children so that they could breath.

"Much better," Allen said as he sighed in relief.

Then Cyril also began to feel someone glaring daggers at his head and hesitantly, he turned his head around and shrunk back a little at the sight before him. Tyki looked like he was about to murder Road and Cyril.

"H-hi, Tyki… would you like a hug as well?" Cyril asked as he released the grasp he had on his children and slowly stood up. The temperature rising a few degrees when he did so.

"No way in hell." Tyki said without hesitation as the aura surrounding him lightened up a little.

Cyril smiled like Tyki had said yes and ran towards his brother with open arms, relieved that his younger brother was back to normal. Before Cyril had gotten within hugging range of Tyki however, Tyki's arm pressed against Cyril's chest, stopping Cyril from getting any closer. Then he looked at Allen who was still in Road's embrace and his eyes narrowed. "Road, you can let go of him now."

Suddenly, Cyril could go forward, but what met him was open air and not realizing it, he continued forward and met with a pillar rather violently.

"Ouch!" Cyril cried out when his body impacted against the pillar.

"Father! Are you okay?" Road asked with concern when she heard the impact and turned her head to look at her father.

"Yeah, I will be fine. But that was rather mean, Tyki-dear!" Cyril said with a pout on his face as he looked at Tyki who didn't seem the least bit sorry.

"Maybe that's why you should stop trying to hug me!" Tyki said with a smirk.

"No way! You will always be my adorable little brother!" Cyril exclaimed and Tyki's smirk faltered slightly before putting on a poker face.

"You are impossible." Tyki muttered as he shook his head in exasperation and turned to look at Allen. "Let's go, Shounen."

Allen looked up and with narrowed eyes, he said, "No. I still hate you, Tyki. You interrupted my plan."

Tyki's blood ran cold and his smile visibly twitched as Road's smile pulled into a devious smirk.

"Let's go, Al-len!" Road said in a singsongy voice and straightened herself up before holding out a hand for Allen. Allen took her hand and without a second glance back, he left with Road to her next destination.

* * *

**Some time later in a luxury room on a train…**

"Tyki… where are we? And why does it seem like the ground under me is moving on its own? And can I finally remove this… cloth around my eyes?" Allen asked hesitantly as his hands wrapped around the cloth on his eyes.

"Go ahead." Tyki said as he walked towards the canopy-style, queen-sized bed in the room. Allen's hands traveled to the knot that held the cloth on his face and quickly untied it. Then he blinked his eyes several times as he adjusted to the light - or in this case, lack of light - inside what he assumed was a room.

"Where are we?" Allen asked as his eyes quickly ran over the room, trying to find any evidence that might give him a hint to where they were. Then his eyes locked to the window that was on the side of the room and walked towards the window. "Why is the scenery outside moving?"

"It's not the scenery that's moving, it's us." Tyki replied sheepishly as his eyes suddenly found his shoes _very_ interesting.

"Why… why are we moving?" Allen asked, afraid of the answer, as he turned his head so that he was looking at Tyki.

"Because we are on a train…" Tyki prepared himself for the outburst that he knew was going to come. Tyki stood up and slowly walked towards the boy.

"T-TYKI! WHY are we on a train?" Allen exclaimed as his body started shaking with annoyance and slight anger and he turned away from the approaching man, staring out into the scenery before him once more.

"…because we need to?" Tyki had reached Allen and he carefully snaked his arms around the boy's waist and settled his head on the boy's.

"If we needed to get somewhere, couldn't we have just used Road's door?" Every single trace of his anger and annoyance was gone the instant Tyki's arms wrapped around Allen. Allen settled himself into Tyki's embrace and leaned his head back against that man's chest, he could never stay mad at the man for long.

"True. But Road needed some time to prepare for everything at our destination, so we took the train instead. And this way, I can also spend time with you, my shounen."

A tint of pink crept up Allen's cheeks and he said, "Where is this train heading?"

"Not telling you," Tyki said with a smirk.

"Aw. Please?"

"Nah-uh. And don't try using your tears on me."

"Aw. So you figured it out." Allen said with a devilish smile.

"Of course. Please do remember that you did learn all that stuff from Road and me," Tyki said with an amused smile.

"Hehe. Of course. But my plan did work… that is, until you interrupted, which I am still annoyed at you for." Allen said as he snuggled closer to Tyki.

"Don't you think I have already gotten my punishment? You walked away every single time I tried to approach you for the rest of the night. And those words that you said really hurt," Tyki said, his arms around Allen's tightened.

"Should I say it again then?" Allen said with a grin, he wasn't really feeling sorry for Tyki, but he did miss Tyki's touch and soothing words.

"Shounen, please don't. Don't say those words, ever again, okay?" Tyki's heart ached as he relived through the scene where Allen had said those words to him.

"Alright, Tyki." It had just dawned to Allen that when he saw the expression in Tyki's eyes when he had said those words, he felt guilt and this unexplainable ache in his heart.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

A comforting silence set between the two as they stared into the moon-lit scenery in front of them.

"Hey, Tyki?" Allen suddenly said.

"Yes?"

"Those buttons on your shirt are really bothering me." Allen said with a smile making Tyki chuckle.

"Hm. Then should I take my shirt off?" Tyki said with a smirk making Allen slightly blush.

"Pervert," Allen muttered, "Tyki, is there a bathroom in this room?"

Tyki chuckled and replied, "Yes. Why?"

"I need to take a shower, please do tell me you brought me some of my clothes from home."

"Yeah, Road took care of that before we left the house. It's over there in that suitcase by the bed. Your night clothes are also in there."

"I should thank Road later. Alright, then I got to take a shower. I need to change out of these clothes, way too formal." Allen said as he released himself from Tyki and Tyki pouted at the lost of contact.

"Okay… Should I join you in the showers?" Tyki asked with a smirk as he saw Allen's cheeks deepened in red.

"N-no t-thank y-you!" Allen stuttered out and rushed towards the suitcase on the bedside to take out what he needed before rushing towards the bathroom.

"Next time then!" Tyki said with an amused smile as Allen shut the door to the bathroom louder than necessary and locked it. Not long after, the shower started and Tyki walked over to the suitcase to take out his own night clothes, which was just a pair of black sweats and a pair of boxer.

In a few minutes, Allen came out fully dressed in his night clothes and he was drying his hair with a towel. "I am done," Allen said as he looked up at Tyki.

"Good, did you enjoy it?" Tyki said as he looked at Allen.

"Course. My formal clothes are in there though. Where do I put it?" Allen asked as he walked over to Tyki.

"Just leave it in there for now. I will grab it on my way out when I am done."

"Okay."

"Then I should shower. I will be back soon." Tyki said as he got up from the bed with his sweats and boxer. "Is there another towel in there?"

"Yeah."

"Alright," Tyki said as he passed by Allen and used the hand that was not holding stuff to ruffle the boy's drying hair.

"Hey!" Allen said with a pout. "And I just straightened my hair out too!"

"Hehe. See you, Shounen!" Tyki said as he walked into the bathroom and closed the doors. Soon, the shower turned on.

Allen said as he walked to the window and sat in a nearby chair while drying his hair with the towel. _I wonder where we are going…_ Allen thought to himself as he watched the bypassing scenery.

When Tyki got out of the bathroom, Allen was still focusing on the outside view and Tyki was in his pair of sweats with drying hair and a bare chest. In his hands was a towel and a stash of clothing. He settled the clothing on a nearby chair and walked towards the boy while drying his hair.

"Enjoying the scene, Shounen?" Tyki asked as he approached Allen, making Allen yelp out in surprise and jump up a little.

Allen placed his left hand over his chest, trying to calm down his heart beat, and turned to glare at Tyki, "Did you have to really appear out of nowhere and approach me so silently?"

"You were just too focused on the scenery." Tyki remarked as he settled some of his weight onto the armrest of Allen's chair.

"Whatever." Allen muttered as he looked back at the scenery. Then he seemed to remember something and turned towards Tyki, asking, "Where are the rest of the family?"

"Skin, Lulu and Jasdevi are in a first-class cabin somewhere near us. Cyril stayed back with Road to help prepare and he will be arriving at the destination with Road. The Earl is staying back to deal with the phones and such."

"Okay… how come you are with me then?" Allen asked suspiciously.

"Because I would much rather stay with you alone than with the twins and Road. Plus, I promised that I would be with you as much as possible, did I not?" Tyki replied with a genuine smile and looked at Allen with a softened gaze. Allen's cheeks turned pink and he turned back to look at the _very interesting_ scenery.

Allen began slowly, "Y-yes, you did, but―"

Suddenly a knock at the door interrupted whatever Allen was about to say.

"Yes? Who is it?" Tyki asked in annoyance.

"It's Lulubelle."

Tyki stood up and walked to the door in long strides. When he unlocked the door and opened it, he was faced with a grim-looking Lulubelle.

"Lulu? What is it?" Tyki asked, instantly turning serious.

Lulu looked around her before asking, "Can I come in first?"

"Oh! Of course, come on in."

"Hello, Lulu!" Allen greeted with a bright smile as he walked towards Lulu whose gaze immediately softened when she saw the boy and his smile.

"What is it, Lulu? Did something happened?" Tyki asked as he shut the door and Allen's smile dropped.

Lulu looked at Tyki with a flicker of irritation before replying, "No, nothing that serious. There are just some exorcists on the train as well."

Tyki's eyes narrowed and cursed under his breath and Allen's forehead scrunched in displeasure. Tyki asked, "How many?"

"Three exorcists and one finder," Lulu replied, but the look on her face showed that there was still something that was bugging her.

"Anything else?"

"One of them is a General."

"Shit. But… Five Noahs and an Innocence user who can fight on par with the Noahs is more than enough to defeat them if that does happen."

"Yeah. That is true, but we should avoid being in contact with them," Lulu replied.

"Alright, does Skin and Jasdevi know?"

"Yeah, I told them already."

"Hey… Lulu… what does the General look like?" A voice spoke up and Lulu and Tyki remembered that they weren't alone, they had completely forgotten about Allen and were surprise when he spoke up.

"Why?" Lulu finally asked.

"Oh, nothing, just curious."

"Alright. The General is a female and has dark blonde hair. She also has something that looks like a monkey on one of her shoulders." Lulu explained, buying Allen's reason. Allen's eyes widened and he quickly looked away.

"I see," Allen said, "I should go to sleep now."

Lulu and Tyki had not missed the reaction Allen had on and they were clearly suspicious of it.

"Allen… what is it?" Tyki questioned.

"Nothing." Allen quickly replied.

"It doesn't sound or look like nothing to me," Tyki said with narrowed eyes.

"I said nothing!" Allen said as he got under the bed's covers.

Deciding not to press it any further, Tyki replied, "Alright. Lulu, you should go back now."

"I agree. Goodnight, Allen," Lulu said as she headed towards the door.

"Goodnight, Lulu." Allen was glad that they didn't press on. _It couldn't be her, could it?_

Lulu opened the door with a smile and closed the door behind her. Tyki walked over to the door and locked it. He then walked over to the bed's unoccupied side and got under the covers as well.

Once Tyki was completely on the bed, Allen instantly rolled over into Tyki's chest and placed his right hand over Tyki's heart.

"Are you okay?" Tyki asked as he wrapped his arms around Allen and smiled a gentle smile.

"Yeah, I am fine. Thanks for asking." Allen said as he cuddled into Tyki's chest, replacing his right hand with his head.

"Goodnight, Shounen," Tyki said as Allen's eyes closed.

"Goodnight, Tyki. I love you, Tyki." Allen whispered as he cuddled even closer against Tyki and Tyki had a smile on his face that was made of pure happiness.

Allen was fast asleep and Tyki continued to stroke the boy's hair. A gleam of light in his eye's peripheral vision caught his attention and his eyes settled onto the ring that was on the boy's index finger of the boy's right hand. Tyki's face instantly pulled into an even happier smile and he whispered affectionately, "Sweet dreams, my dear shounen."

Tyki soon closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep with a happy smile.

**The following morning…**

Allen had woken up that morning with a smile as he saw that he was still in Tyki's embrace and surprisingly, Tyki had woken up already and was watching him with an especially gentle smile. A blush instantly appeared on the boy's cheeks and he greeted, "Good morning, Tyki."

"Morning, Shounen."

"How long have you been watching me?" Allen looked up and stared into Tyki's comforting golden eyes.

"Maybe about ten minutes or so, not sure." Tyki replied with a grin.

"Why are you up so early?" Allen asked as he cuddled closer to Tyki and Tyki's hands tightened around _his_ Shounen.

"It's already past 11, Shounen. I think Lulu got you some breakfast though. You should go eat."

"Really? Hm. Lulu is a lifesaver." Allen couldn't believe how late he had slept in.

"Yeah. You must have been really tired. And you didn't have a single nightmare too!" Tyki remarked with a smile.

"Psh. You already know I _never_ have nightmares when I am sleeping with you, especially when I am cuddled with you," Allen said with shy smile. "And now if you could, mind letting go so I can get ready and go eat breakfast?"

"No. This is too comfortable." Tyki said with a slight pout making Allen sigh.

"Doesn't this happen _every_ single time I wake up with you? And aren't you forced to let go anyways _every_ single time?" Allen said with a smirk. "Shouldn't you just learn to let go the first time I ask already?"

"But it's too comfortable!" Tyki protested like a child, knowing Allen was right. And _every_ single time after Tyki lets go, Tyki was either on cloud nine or with a few bruises. Tyki was willing to risk getting a few bruises and he was glad that he was a Noah with regenerating abilities.

"Fine." Allen whispered with a sigh. Since Tyki gave him such a special gift yesterday and Allen was in a particular good mood, Allen decided to send Tyki on cloud nine. "If you let go and let me get ready, I will give you a kiss…" Tyki's eyes lit up and a bright smile appeared on his face. "…on the cheek."

Tyki's face fell a little, but his face was still beaming with happiness. This was the first time Allen had offered him a kiss, even if it's just on the cheek, as an offer. Other times, it had either been "I love you's" or hugs or something that can instantly send Tyki to cloud nine.

"Okay!" Tyki said as he gave one last hug before letting go of Allen.

Allen quickly gave Tyki a peck on the cheek and got off the bed. Even though the kiss had lasted less than five seconds, Tyki felt like his skin was burning with a pleasant fire where Allen had kissed him, he was on cloud nine, as expected, already. Allen smiled at Tyki who was on cloud nine and hurried got the clothes he needed from the suitcase before stepping into the bathroom to change and do his morning stuff.

**An hour or so later… **

Allen was sitting by the window reading a book he had 'borrowed' -aka steal since the Noahs didn't bother to bring any books with them even when they knew he had to be on the train for a few hours before arriving at the destination- from a passenger without the passenger knowing. After all, Allen wasn't called a master thief for nothing and at this, Allen had on an evil grin on his face before returning his attention to the book he was reading. It was a book about the cities and country-sides of Europe and every now and then, there would be a painting or a picture, rarely, of the scene or city it was describing.

Tyki told him that he was going to wander the train a little and take care of some business after making Allen promise him that he would stay inside the room at all times, unless there's a fire or something like that, and don't open the door unless it was him or the other Noahs. Allen agreed and smirked as he held up his newly-gained book saying that he had something to occupy himself with and Tyki couldn't help but let a smile spread across his face.

As Allen was flipping the page, he noticed that the train was slowing down and when he looked out the window, his suspicions were confirmed, they were approaching a train station.

Suddenly a knock was heard in the room, making Allen look away from the window, Allen called out, "Who is it?"

"It's Tyki, shounen," came the reply from the other side of the door.

"Coming!" Allen said as he placed his book on the window-still and bounced up from his seat, heading towards the door.

**Meanwhile… on the other side of the door…**

A woman with dark blonde hair in a black and gold uniform was getting out of her cabin along with her fellow company. It was their stop.

Suddenly a shock of white in the corner of the woman's vision caught her attention and her head snapped to the direction of where she had seen the white.

Her eyes widened in shock. _No, it couldn't be, could it?_ Down the hallway not too far from them, there was a white-haired boy letting a raven-haired man into his room. The white haired boy then turned his back to the hallway and quickly proceeded to closing the door before locking it.

About to further investigate, the woman was brought to a halt by a call of her name.

"General Nyne! We need to get off now." A voice called out from in front of her. She looked up and saw that one of her fellow company was waiting by the exit of the train car while the other two was standing on the train station's platform.

Annoyed that she couldn't further investigate, Klaud Nyne let out a frustrated sigh and walked towards the exit. "Coming!"

**Back in the room…**

"So how did your 'business' go?" Allen asked curiously as he hopped back to his seat and the window-still. A shock of dark-blonde hair caught Allen's attention and his eyes immediately snapped up in shock.

"It went well and according to plan." Tyki said as he settled down on the bed.

Allen was staring at the back of an all-too-familiar dark-blonde woman wearing the black and gold uniform of an Exorcist. Allen had completely blocked out the world behind him, so he didn't hear Tyki's reply, his senses were only focused on the dark-blonde woman.

When he didn't receive a reply, Tyki looked up at the white-haired boy who looked like he was frozen and staring out of the window. Worriedly he called out, "Allen? Are you alright?"

**Outside the train car… on the train station platform…**

Klaud Nyne felt like a pair of eyes was watching her, so preparing herself in case of an attack, she slowly turned her head and what she saw completely took her by surprise. A pair of shock-filled silver eyes on a very-familiar face was staring at her in shock from a window on the train. Klaud Nyne instantly froze in her track and she turned around fully so that she was facing the boy. Her face mirrored exactly what she felt inside- shock, surprise, relief and gratefulness- and her legs began to slowly take her back to the train. However, the train had already started moving and even her speed as a General wasn't quick enough to catch up to the white-haired boy. But before the white-haired boy could fully leave her sight, his mouth had formed a word that Klaud read easily and a wave was directed at her direction. And then he was out of sight.

Tears began to form in her eyes and she fought to hold them back. She had seen the boy she had been searching for for almost four years now, finally. Even though it was only a meeting of a few seconds, that was enough because she now knew he was safe and still alive. Her face pulled into a sad smile as she used the sleeves of her coat to wipe away the tears that had managed to spill out. _As long as he is still alive, I will still have a chance of finding him again_, Klaud thought as she remembered the words that he had said, "Goodbye," but she knew that this wouldn't be the last time she saw him, as long as he is still alive, she swears that she will find him again and be able to talk with him.

"General? Is something wrong?" A voice hesitantly called out behind Klaud Nyne.

"No. Everything's fine. Let's go, Sol," Klaud replied as she turned around and walked towards Sol, who was looking at her worriedly. He noticed her slightly red eyes, but he decided to not question on it.

"Alright, General."

**Back in the room…**

_So it was her…_ Allen thought sadly as he turned away from the window-still and met a pair of worried golden eyes.

"What's wrong, Shounen?" Tyki asked with worry-filled eyes when he was a footstep or two away from his Shounen.

"Nothing…" Allen said as he looked away with a sad smile on his face.

"Allen…" Tyki said as his index finger reached up to cup the tears that were sitting at the corner of Allen's eyes. "If nothing's wrong, you wouldn't be crying."

Allen's eyes widened when he saw the tears that were on Tyki's finger, he hadn't known he was crying. "I am not crying. Something just got in my eye, that's all."

"Allen, we both know that's a lie," Tyki lightly scolded with a slightly stern tone and worried eyes.

"Tyki!" Allen cried out as he flung his arms around Tyki's waist and cuddled his head against Tyki's abdomen.

Tyki wrapped his arms around the boy gently, but protectively and began to stroke the boy's soft white hair.

Near-quiet sobs and sniffles could be heard while they stayed like that for a minute or so. Soon, the sniffles died down and Allen finally became collected again.

"I think I am going to clean up a little. Thank you Tyki," Allen said as he pulled his head back and looked up at Tyki.

"Alright." Tyki said as he let go of Allen. Allen walked towards the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Then sounds of running water could be heard and Tyki released a soft worried sigh.

_I should probably change into a different shirt…_ Tyki thought as he looked at his now-partially-wet shirt and headed towards the suitcase. He found another dress shirt in there and quickly pulled off his current dress shirt, throwing it towards the pile of used clothes on the chair by the bathroom.

As he was putting on his new shirt, a knock was heard from the other side of the door.

"Who is it?" Tyki called out with slight irritation as he walked towards the door, prepared to open it.

"It's Lulubelle." A voice sounded from the other side.

"What is it, Lulu?" Tyki asked after he unlocked and opened the door.

"The Exorcists have gotten off." Lulu said with a small smile that faltered when the white-haired boy that she was expected to see was nowhere in her vision. "Where is Allen?"

"I am right here, Lulu," A voice replied as the bathroom door opened and out stepped Allen. Lulu's mouth pulled into a relieved smile. "Why are you here?" Allen asked gently.

"The Exorcists have gotten off," Lulu repeated as Allen walked towards her. When he heard this, Allen faltered in his steps just slightly, but it wasn't gone unnoticed by Lulu or Tyki. Tyki's mind instantly connected the dots and a vague summary on the boy's sudden outburst formed in his mind.

"Allen… did something happen?" Lulu asked with worry when she noticed that boy's slightly red and puffed eyes. Tyki immediately sent her a warning glance which she caught and confusion clouded in her eyes but she replied with a barely-noticeable nod.

"No, nothing out of the ordinary," Allen replied with a faux smile that could easily convince others, but it didn't work on the two Noahs. They decided to pretend that they were tricked, Tyki because he didn't want to bring it up to Allen and Lulu because of Tyki's warning glance.

"Alright then. We will arrive at our destination in a few hours and a carriage will be waiting there for us," Lulu said with a small smile.

"Okay." Allen replied with a more real smile.

"I am going to go now… to make sure the twins are… not making trouble." Lulu said reluctantly as she turned around.

"See you later, Lulu!" Allen called out. Lulu replied with a wave before entering a door not that far from where his and Tyki's room were.

Tyki closed the door and locked it before turning around to face the boy, who he found was walking towards the chair by the window-still.

"What are you going to do now?" Tyki asked as he walked towards the boy.

Allen grabbed his book off the window-still before replying, "Read."

"Can I join you?" Tyki asked as he sat down on the chair where the boy was going to sit.

"You really should button up your shirt already, not that I mind much," Allen said with a smirk.

"Too lazy, would you like to button it for me instead?" Tyki replied with a mischievous smile.

"No way!" A blush crept up the boy's cheek and then he muttered, "I much prefer leaning against your naked chest than a shirt with annoying and uncomfortable buttons anyways."

Tyki let out a chuckle as he motioned for the boy to sit on his lap and the boy complied with a smile. Once the boy was settled, he wrapped his arms around the boy's waist and sat his head on top of Allen's. Allen leaned into the man's chest and said, "Much more comfortable."

"Am I just some sort of pillow to you?" Tyki questioned jokingly with a smirk.

"Yup!" The boy said cheerfully without any remorse.

"How could you think of me like that?" Tyki asked, feigning hurt.

"Because I love you," Allen replied with a knowing smile, surprising Tyki with his answer.

Tyki was unable to move for a few moments, letting what Allen just said so casually sink in. Then a blinding smile appeared on his face and moving his head so that his lips was right next to Allen's right ear, he whispered with a velvet-like voice, "I love you too, Shounen."

Tyki's whisper sent shivers down the boy's body, but a genuinely happy smile appeared on the boy's face. "I am glad," Allen said as he shifted his head and landed a kiss on Tyki's cheek, surprising Tyki yet again with his sudden display of affection.

When Tyki finally got hold of himself, he whispered seductively into the boy's ear, "I want more."

"Nah-uh," the boy said in a melodic voice and under his breath, he muttered, "Pervert."

Tyki just chuckled and with a pout, said, "Fine." Tyki moved his head back up and settled once again on the boy's soft and fluffy hair. "So what is the book about?"

"The cities and country-side of Europe," Allen replied as he flipped the book open to where he had left off.

"Huh. Where are you at now?" Tyki said in interest, he liked to read books as well and he especially loved reading with Allen.

"Venice, we should visit there sometime," Allen replied with a smile.

"Just you and me?" Tyki asked with curiosity.

"Yes, just you and me." Allen replied with hope-filled eyes as he looked at the picture it had of Venice.

"Alright. No problem, consider it granted. It will be very fun," Tyki said with a gentle smile as he stared at the picture the book had of Venice as well.

"Thank you, Tyki."

**A few hours later…**

"Um... where are we?" Allen asked as the carriage pulled to a stop and he tried glancing pass the curtains that were covering the windows, but he couldn't see anything. They had gotten off the train about a half hour ago and waiting for them at the train station's entrance was two carriages and two Noahs. Road instantly jump-glomped Allen and Cyril had rushed towards his brother trying to hug him and hugged Skin, who was standing behind Tyki, instead.

"You will see when you get out and you will instantly recognize where we are," Road answered smoothly with a smile. "Lulu, mind coming with me to prepare before Allen gets off?"

"No problem," Lulu replied with a small knowing smile as Road opened the door. Allen instantly tried to see what was past those doors, but before he could really see anything besides blinding light, a pair of hands wrapped around his eyes and pulled him towards a familiar chest.

"Tyki!" Allen protested with a pout. He could hear a chuckle behind him and the sound of Road and Lulu getting off. He also heard some bustling of voices and he concluded they were in a town.

"No peeking," Tyki said with a grin as he held the boy closer to him.

"Are we in a town?" Allen asked and Tyki was proud that Allen had figured that out so easily.

"Yes, we are. Your training really paid off," Tyki replied, knowing his affirmation won't hurt anything.

"Can you let me get my vision back now?" Allen asked with a satisfied smile, happy that he had gotten the right conclusion and got praised at the same time.

"Oh, oops. Of course," Tyki said with a chuckle as he removed his hands from Allen's eyes, but then relocated them around Allen's waist.

"Weren't we in a similar position for the last few hours?" Allen asked with a smile, recalling when they started reading the book Allen had 'borrowed' together.

"I suppose so, but I know you enjoy this, and so do I," Tyki replied with a smile.

"True," Allen replied as he leaned against Tyki's chest. Tyki was slightly surprised that Allen didn't try to deny it.

"So... how do you feel about...humans?" Tyki asked hesitantly.

Allen was taken by surprise by the sudden change of topic, but his eyes instantly narrowed at the mention of humans, "Hate and disgust, why?"

"Just wondering... after all, it will be bad if you hesitated in the future when the Earl finally starts the plans... I don't want you hurt." Tyki lied smoothly.

Allen let out a dark chuckle and said, "Why would I hesitate in killing those filthy things? My past has only proved the need for us to rid the world of them."

"That is certainly true―" Tyki began and was about to continue when a knock on the carriage door interrupted him.

"Tyki~ We are ready!" Road called out joyfully and Tyki grinned.

"Let's go then, shall we?" Tyki asked.

"Of course! I have been waiting a little too patiently!" Allen exclaimed as he sprung up and waited for Tyki with his hand out. Tyki locked his hand with Allen's and slowly opened the door, allowing both of them to adjust to the light before fully viewing their surroundings.

Allen's hand started shaking when he saw where he was and soon his body shook as well. "What are we doing here?" the boy asked with fear leaking through.

Voices around them instantly increased in volume as recognition and fear flickered in their eyes and slowly they backed away from the shaking white-haired boy.

"Why are we in Tonnerre of ALL places?" Allen exclaimed as tears started breaking through his efforts to hold them back.

Tyki wrapped his arms around the boy and the words he whispered instantly stilled the boy, "Because it's time for them to pay for what they did to our beloved Allen."

A glint of realization flashed through his eyes before a maniacal and dark smile appeared on his innocent and once-crying features. "Really?" Allen asked as his mischievous eyes looked up and met Tyki's.

"Yes, it is time~!" A cheerful female voice said as its source bounced up to Allen with a similar smile to Allen's.

"Hehe, this is a great present and surprise, you guys~! I love it!" Allen said and his smile reverted to a grateful smile that he flashed to everyone in his family before returning to the maniacal smile.

"I am so glad!" Cyril cried out in delight before his face twisted into a Noah smile.

The townspeople could feel the sudden change of aura surrounding the oh-so-familiar boy and the group of people surrounding him, they could feel the murderous intent and their instincts were telling them to run away as fast as they could, but no matter how hard they tried, it seemed as though their feet were glued to the ground.

"What the hell is going on?" a voice boomed as its source appeared behind the crowd and the crowd made way for the man.

"Say, Tyki and Road, would you mind if I had this guy for myself?" Allen said as his smile widened.

"Of course not. You can choose whoever you want, but save some for the rest of the family. Any special reason why you chose him though?" Road replied.

"He is that guy who led the group that beat me to a pulp," Allen replied and the rest of the family's murderous aura increased even more. They then eyed the man with pure hate and the man couldn't help but cringe back slightly.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" A scream filled with pain was suddenly heard and every head snapped toward its source. It was a woman whose body parts were twisted in odd and painful looking angles.

"Oops!" Cyril said with a proud smile and didn't sound apologetic at all.

Road's smile just widened and she looked at the woman whose blood was starting to gush out. "Don't mind. But that blood sure looks tasty!" Road said as she licked her lower lips with her tongue.

"Would you like to taste it?" Cyril asked.

"May I, father?" Road asked in anticipation.

"Of course!" Cyril replied without hesitation and Road immediately started to skip towards the bleeding woman. "Try not to get your clothes dirty though, okay?"

Tyki and Allen couldn't help to sweat-drop at Cyril's 'request'.

"Monsters!"

"Demons!"

Shouts erupted as they watched Road happily skip towards the woman and poked her index finger into one of the body's bleeding source. When she pulled the finger out, she brought her finger up and licked the blood of her finger. "Yum!" Road said with satisfaction before poking her hand into another bleeding source and tasted more of the woman's blood.

"Demons!"

"Monsters!"

"What the hell are you doing?"

Not affected by those words as he was in his dark and Noah-like mode, Allen's face only pulled into an even more maniac grin.

"Hey Allen, do you still recognize the people who beat you up?" Lulubelle suddenly asked, her question making every Noah's attention, even Road's who was enjoyably 'drinking' blood, snap towards Allen.

"Of course I do! How could I not?" Allen replied as his eyes scanned through the crowd. "Him, him, him, him, him, him, him, him, him, him, him, him, and the leader. There is still one or two guy missing though," Allen said as he pointed at each man separately at the mention of 'him'. The guys that were pointed out shrunk back slightly at the gazes of pure hate were flashed towards them.

"Why is everyone gathering over here?" A man's voice asked as he made his way to the front of the crowd, standing near the leader of the mob that had attacked Allen.

Recognition flickered through Allen's eyes and his eyes narrowed. "And I want him as well. But I will save him for last," Allen requested as he pointed at the new arrival. The new arrival's eyes snapped up at the familiar-yet-different voice and his eyes were filled with fear when he realized who was standing before the crowd, the devil's child who disappeared after the mob had passed out for unknown reasons. The town had just assumed that their unconsciousness was due to the devil child's doing and believed that the boy would never come back, but they were wrong.

"Anything special about him?" Tyki asked as he looked at the man Allen was pointing to.

"He was the guy who suggested I be crucified and burned with holy fire." Allen spitted out with disgust as all of the Noahs' eyes narrowed and glared at the man.

"Saving him for last is a great idea, anymore request?"

"I also want him and him and her," Allen said pointing to each person he was referring to.

"Alright then, shall we begin?"

"Not yet... Cyril...?" Allen called out and he looked at his father.

"Yes?" Cyril replied with a serious tone.

"Can you use you powers to make sure no one tries to run out of town and no one within 150km of the town can hear or see the fun we are going to have?"

Cyril looked slightly surprised at the boy's request, wondering where Allen had gotten the knowledge about his power and abilities, sure, he mentioned them a few times, but never went in depth about them before. "Alright, no problem, dear Allen," Cyril replied as he went to work.

"Oh, and can you also make sure this man here," Allen pointed to the man that had suggested Allen being crucified, "and this man" Allen pointed at the former leader of that mob, "will be watching me at all times and not try to run away from me?"

Tyki chuckled at Allen's words, knowing what Allen had planned. Cyril answered, "Alright then. Anything else?"

"Nope! Well at least not right now~ Thank you, father" Allen said with a devious smile.

"Then let's get the fun started!" Tyki declared with a Noah smile. And everyone charged towards the target they had in mind with a Noah smile on their face.

In ten minutes, most of the townspeople were already either dead or bleeding the life out of them. Allen was sitting down in the middle of the two main men that he chose, he had already finished the targets he chose and even killed off a few others before he decided to just sit back and watch and witness as the town began to be more and more covered in blood. Allen's maniacal grin just widened every single time a scream was heard and every body that was slashed in his sight while the two men beside him just watched in horror.

"Road," Allen called out softly and instantly, Road appeared in front of him.

"Yes Allen? Why are you just sitting here anyways?" Road asked as she licked some of the blood off her fingers.

"I got bored of killing with my Innocence and decided that watching you guys would be way more fun," Allen chuckled at the irony of him using Innocence to kill off humans instead of saving humans.

"Hehe. Well, if you want to start killing again, feel free to join in. And don't worry about anything because you won't turn into a Fallen One," Road said as she settled on Allen's lap.

Allen winced a little at the mention of a Fallen One, but he wasn't really worrying about that. Now that Road brought it up, he was curious. "I wasn't really worrying about that but okay... How do you know I won't turn into a Fallen One anyways?"

"Because I asked Dreamworld Allen, aka your 'guardian'," Road replied as she traveled down memory lane.

* * *

**~memory lane starts~ **

"Hey, Allen!" Road called out as she skipped through the barrier of the purple dome.

Said Allen looked away from the screen and a pleasant smile adorned his lips when he saw his visitor, "Hello, Road. Fancy seeing you here."

"Psh. Don't be so cold," Road said with a pout as she skipped up to him.

"Do I look like I am being cold?" Allen asked as Road approached him.

"Not really… but… there's something different about you, and I can't seem to place what it is," Road said as she analyzed the Allen before her and tried figuring out what is difference between this Allen and the Allen she saw the last time she visited, which was a few months ago.

Allen let out a chuckle and an amused look took place in his eyes, "You have sharp eyes, Road. So what brings you here today? I haven't seen you in a while."

Remembering what brought her here, Road replied, "Well I have a question or two for you and I missed talking to you."

"Aw, how sweet," Allen flashed her a sweet smile before getting straight to the point. "So what are the questions?"

"Well… I was wondering… if Allen does start using his Innocence against humanity and the filthy exorcists, would he turn into a Fallen One?" Road asked with a worried look.

"What brought on this question?" Allen asked even though he already vaguely knew the answer.

"Because I have a feeling that the Earl will soon take action and since Allen is so set on helping us, it will mean that he is going to have to start fighting against humanity. Also, I have an idea for a great birthday present for Allen, but I need to know that this present won't turn Allen into a Fallen One," Road explained with a sad smile. Allen was a little surprised at the last part because well, he didn't know about it until now.

"Don't worry, Road. Allen won't _ever_ turn into a Fallen One," Allen said confidently with a knowing smile, there wasn't a single hint of doubt on his face.

"How are you so sure?" Road questioned suspiciously and soon she turned a little on the desperate side. "Innocence wielders **do** turn into Fallen Ones if the Innocence judges its user and if it comes to the conclusion that the user has betrayed it, it tries to kill its user! I don't want Allen to die! Allen will be killed by the Innocence from within! How could you be so damn calm and sure!"

"Road! Calm― Actually even if I tell you to calm down, you won't, so it's no use saying that but seriously! Settle down!" Allen said as he got up and placed his hands on Road's shoulder. Road had started breaking down a little and tears were starting to escape. Seeing the Road before him, Allen brought Road into an embrace and wrapped his arms around her, then in a soothing tone whispered, "It's alright, Road. Allen would never turn in a Fallen One. Trust me. Allen won't be killed by its Innocence."

Road's tears and sobs died down and slowly, she looked up. "How are you so sure?"

"Because Allen is special," Allen said with a sad smile as he looked at Road.

"How? You never did tell me more details about how Allen was special."

"Allen is God's chosen child."

Road just speechlessly stared at the Allen before him with shock clearly evident on her face. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. Allen is God's chosen child, just like Noah was especially favored by God, Allen is as well, but he is slightly different than Noah," Allen said with an unreadable face but his eyes did give hint that he was slightly troubled.

Not sure how she should reply to and take in this new information, she asked the question that was bugging her, "Does Allen know?"

"He will, soon. I am planning on telling him. He has a right to know and he should know," Allen said with a sad smile, he knew that this new information was going to trouble Allen as well.

"But God's chosen child? Mind explaining more on this?" Road asked unsurely with a troubled expression.

"I guess you can say he is a double-edged sword. He can either bring destruction to this world or he can save this world from destruction."

"You mean… you can't possibly mean that. But why Allen? Why?" Road asked with slight disbelief. Allen was still just a child. Why would God place such a big burden on a child like that?

"Because he is special, as I have said many times before. I am afraid I can't tell you more."

"I thought God was gone already? I thought God had already ceased to exist! Why does he have to dump this on Allen of ALL people!"

"God created this world, as long as this world still exist, God will always continue to exist, some form or another. Even a tree can be the form God has decided to become." Allen replied calmly.

"But wouldn't Allen killing off humans with his Innocence be technically considered as betraying God and going against him?"

"In a way, yes."

"Then why would God still choose him and not turn him into a Fallen One?"

"Because God doesn't want to make the same mistake a second time and don't you remember that it was God's original will to destroy humanity?"

Road was slightly taken back by how much this Dreamworld Allen knew and how true his words were, "Yeah… your point is?"

"God has two contradicting views now since he has remembered what he did. He wants to either save humanity or destroy humanity. I guess you can say the Noahs aren't really fighting God anymore and are just fighting the humans now. But anyways, God still hasn't made up his mind yet and Allen is his chosen one. Allen is sort of like the one making the decision in God's place, but God is neutral, he's not going to help humanity or go against humanity. But because of this, God would never want to kill off Allen with the Innocence, even if Allen is against humanity. And the Innocence would never betray God's will."

"How do you know so much?" Road could see the point in Allen's words, but she was annoyed at how much more this Allen knows than most of them.

Allen released a humorless chuckle and replied, "I am afraid I can't tell you, dear Road. But do be reassured, as long as Allen is on your side, I will be on your side as well. Besides that, I like you, Road and I like the rest of the Noahs as well. You guys have given Allen the love and care he has always needed and wanted."

Road decided not to press on the matter and her lips pulled into a concerned smile, "Do you know what Allen is going to do? It's going to be hard for him to make that choice, will it not?"

"Actually no… as a matter of fact, it will probably take Allen less than ten seconds to make his choice," Allen said with a smile.

"Wh―really?" Road asked with surprise.

"Yeah. Do you not remember about Allen's past? Why do you think he will start wanting to save humans?" Allen asked with a mischievous smile.

"Oh yeah… that's right." Road said as a genuine smile appeared on her. She was pleased by what Allen is probably going to choose.

"Anyways… mind letting me in on this surprise Allen is going to be the center of?"

"Alright… fine. I guess you deserve it for replying to my question and relieving me of my concerns," Road said with mischief clear in her eyes, "We are going to bring Allen to Tonnerre!"

"Ah!" Allen said with a knowing smile, instantly understanding what the surprise will be. "That sure sounds fun. I bet Allen is going to have lots of fun. Those humans do deserve it."

"Yup~ It sure will be~!"

**~Memory lane ends~**

* * *

"Ah… him. So how many times have you met up with him already?" Allen said with understanding, snapping Road back to reality. He knew of how Road would sometimes travel to his dream world to visit his dreamworld self and his dreamworld self would sometimes even tell him about what had gone on.

"Uh… at least five times? Do you mind?" Road replied with a sheepish smile.

"No. Not really. I am sort of glad that he has some form of companion," Allen said truthfully.

"Have you always known he existed?" Road asks with curiosity.

"I have known for sort of a while, I guess. I am guessing he also told you about me being God's Chosen Child and how I will never turn into a Fallen One?"

"Yeah… So I take it he told you as well?"

"Yes."

"What are you going to do?"

"I am going to stand besides my fellow family members of course. These humans are too corrupt and selfish." Allen said without a hint of doubt. His mind was set and he was absolute in his decision.

"Oh, I am so glad, Allen!" Road bounced up and wrapped her hands around Allen.

"Road… We are about done here. Oh there you are, shounen," a voice spoke up behind Road.

"Tyki, did you guys have fun?" Allen asked with a devious smile.

"Yes we did… but why is Road hugging you?" Tyki said as he started glaring at Road's back.

"Oh, don't be such a prick! Allen is _mine_. So of course I can hug him whenever I want~!" Road released Allen and sat on his lap again, looking at Tyki as if challenging him to say otherwise.

"Road, when―" Allen began to protest.

"Road, if you wouldn't mind, can I have _my_ dear Shounen back?" Tyki asked with a way-too-pleasant smile.

"Tyki!" Allen protested with a blush in his cheeks and slightly annoyed that both of them are claiming him as his and he doesn't even have a say in the matter! He doesn't belong to either of them anyways.

"Yes, Shounen?" Tyki asked as he walked towards the two sitting down. The two other prisoners that were beside Allen didn't know what to think of the scene playing out before them.

"Is everyone almost done? I would like to start my fun soon as well," Allen said as he looked around the town that was almost entirely covered in blood.

"I think we have gotten everyone… except those two. So you will probably be able to start soon," Tyki replied with a knowing grin.

"That's good. I was getting bored of just watching anyways," Allen said as he glanced at the two prisoners at the corner of his eyes. "Say, Road… is it possible that you have brought some… toys to use?"

Road let out a giggle, "Actually I brought a whole closet of 'toys'. Is there any special ones that you had in mind?"

"Ah yes, I do," Allen leaned in to whisper the 'toys' that he wanted with Tyki easily hearing all of the requests. When Allen was finished, Road and Tyki both had very-Noah grins on their face. Seeing the expression on their face, Allen added with a playful tone, this time loud enough for the prisoners to hear, "And is it possible that you also have two big crucifixes?" The prisoners' face widened in horror.

"Unfortunately no," Road replied and the prisoners released a sigh of relief, but it was short lived. "However, there is one in that church over there and we can have Skin or father make one on the spot," Road added with a devious grin as the prisoners' face widened in pure horror once more.

"That would be much appreciated, Road. Can you help me take care of the preparations then?" Allen replied with a way-too-innocent smile.

"Of course! I will have Lulu and the others help me, but I am guessing Tyki is staying with you?" Road said as she got up and straightened herself.

"Of course I am staying with my beloved Shounen," Tyki said even though the question wasn't directed at him. Allen just blushed furiously at Tyki's words.

"Alright, then. I will be back soon, Allen!" Road said with a stick of her tongue at Tyki before skipping off to wherever her destination was.

"Meet you by the church!" Allen shouted to Road who acknowledge that she heard it with a wave of her hand. Allen then got up and walked towards Tyki who had his arms open. Allen approached Tyki's side and wrapped his arms around Tyki.

"Did you have fun so far, Shounen?" Tyki asked as he placed his arms around the boy.

"I did. But my fun hasn't ended yet," Allen replied and flickered a glance towards the prisoner. "Let's head to the church."

"Alright. Get up, you two," Tyki said as Allen released him. At the look of displeasure shown on Tyki's face, Allen grinned and just locked hands with Tyki and Tyki immediately had a satisfied smile adorning his lips.

"No way in hell would we listen to you two monsters," the leader of that mob shouted with disgust while the other man just nodded furiously at what the leader had said.

"Now, now. That wasn't very nice, was it?" Tyki said as he appeared a split second later in front of the leader. Tyki's right arm plunged into the man's body and got hold of his heart, giving it a light squeeze making the leader gasp in pain. The other man just watched what was happening to the leader in horror and shock.

"What the hell are you?" The leader spitted out with fear.

"Tyki," Allen said with a pout as he walked up to the man, "Please don't kill him… I don't want my fun to be halved."

"Sorry, Shounen," Tyki said as he looked at Allen who was now next to him and took out his hand from the man who was now watching them with fright.

"And now your gloves are dirty too!" Allen said with disapproval as he used his right hand to grab ahold of the wrist that the dirtied glove was on. Then he brought the gloved hand towards his mouth as his tongue appeared and Allen looked up at Tyki as if asking for permission.

"Go ahead," Tyki said with a knowing look. Allen then started licking the blood off of Tyki's glove, but the blood had already stained the once spotless leather.

When Allen had finished licking off all the blood that he could, he had a pout on his lip, "It already stained! And that blood didn't taste that good either. Too... foul-tasting and bitter, but it's better than nothing."

"Sorry, Shounen. Should we get going now?" Tyki said with a small smile and flashed a glance towards the now-frozen and horror-struck prisoners.

"We should. Let's go," Allen said as he released the wrist of Tyki's right arm in exchange for Tyki's left hand.

"Come on, you two. Or would you rather have us force you?" Tyki motioned for the humans to follow them with a devilish smile.

Too fear-struck by what they had just witnessed and experienced, the prisoners nodded their heads and immediately got up.

It was a pretty short walk towards the church with the two prisoners hovering behind Allen and Tyki, who were walking with linked hands. By the time the four got there, everyone was there already and they were expecting them. There was also a treasure-chest-like chest sitting underneath the twins who were swinging their legs back and forth while waiting. Behind the family and in front of the church, there were also two wooden cross that were each held up a feet or so off the ground by a wooden post.

"Ah~ You are finally here, Allen! Hey, Tyki~! What took you guys so long?" Road asked as she bounced up to Allen and threw her arms around him.

"We got a little held up by those humans, but… it was easily taken care of," Tyki explained as he started glaring at Road.

"Road… do you have everything?" Allen asked with a smile.

"Yup! Everything is in the chest and the crucifixes are behind the family," Road replied as she released Allen and jumped back a step.

"Can someone please help me hold them up while you and I pin them up?" Allen asked with eyes glittering with mischief, "You do have some hammers and nails in that chest, right?"

"Found them!" Jasdevi said as they held up two hammers and a few nails. They had gone searching for the hammers and nails at their mention. Allen flashed them a smile as he released Tyki's hand and walked towards the twins.

"I will help Allen hold up his prisoner. I can reject the air around the prisoner so it will be an easy **one** person job for me," Tyki said as he followed Allen, still a little displeased at the loss of Allen's hand in his.

"Alright. I can have Skin and maybe daddy to help me with mine. Skin, can you help me? I will give you a lollipop later," Road asked as she turned to Skin.

"Okay, but promise?" Skin asked with a flicker of hope in his eyes.

"Promise." Road said and a ghost of a smile appeared on Skin's lip. Smiling at Skin's happiness, Road turned towards Allen and asked, "Which one of them do you want?"

"The guy who suggested I be crucified. You can have the leader," Allen replied with a wicked smile and in his right hand was a hammer while the nails were wedged between the fingers of his left hand. "Father, mind helping me drag him to that crucifix?" Allen pointed to the crucifix on the left.

"Of course, Allen!" Cyril said as he grabbed ahold of the man's shirt-collar and literally dragged him to the crucifix.

In the background, Allen can hear Road already beginning to nail down her guy and the screams of pain coming from the man were just beautiful.

"Tyki, mind helping me lift him up?" Allen asked when Cyril reached where he was.

"My pleasure," Tyki replied as he began using his power to control the air around the man so that the floating man could be lined up perfectly with the crucifix.

"Father, can you please lift me up?" Allen requested and Cyril nodded before picking the boy up so that the boy was sitting on his shoulders.

"Thank you!" Allen said gratefully as he lined up the nail in his hand to the man's wrist and began hammering the nail through the wrist and into the wood.

Shrieks of pain and pleads to stop could be heard as the man tried wriggling to free himself, although his attempts were futile. Allen just smiled as he listened to that beautiful 'music' coming from the man while Cyril just stuck out his tongue to catch the occasional drops of blood coming from above.

When he was done, he let out a satisfied "hmph" and then asked his father to walk to the other side so that he could finish up the hands.

The man started screaming in pain once again as Allen resumed his hammering and Allen's smile just widened even more and Cyril just stuck out his tongue once again.

"You know, the blood doesn't taste too good. A little foul tasting and bitter," Cyril commented as he caught another drop of blood.

"Him as well?" Allen seemed amused.

"What do you mean?" Cyril asked in slight confusion as another drop of blood descended past him.

"The other guy's blood was foul tasting and bitter as well," Allen said as he reached out one finger to catch a drop of blood and licked it. "You are right."

"How do you know how the other guy's blood taste? Please don't tell me you decided to become vampire-like," Cyril was not too pleased at the suggestion he made.

"Yuck. No way would I be a vampire," Allen's face pulled into disgust as he continued hammering the nail in, it was a little troublesome hammering through human bone, after all. "Tyki just decided to plunge his hand into the guy's chest, so I licked Tyki's glove off, but the blood still stained," Allen said with a pout in the end.

Cyril threw Tyki a look of disapproval and Tyki just looked away to avoid meeting his brother's eyes. Cyril was began scolding him, "Tyki~ Now you need _another_ pair of glove. What―"

"Done!" Allen exclaimed with satisfaction. Then he added as he threw a you-owe-me look at Tyki, "Can you please lower me down, father?"

Completely forgetting how he was about to scold Tyki, Cyril said with an adoring smile, "Of course, my dear Allen."

Once Allen got down, he quickly finished up nailing the man's two feet and when he turned around, he found Road standing by Tyki and Cyril. "So you are done already?"

"Yup~ It was easy~" Road replied with a grin.

"Alright then." Allen looked over at the other group of Noahs. "You guys can do whatever you want with that man! Have fun and enjoy!"

The twins had on a Noah grin and let out cheers while Lulu just looked pleased. Skin's expression looked like he didn't care, but his eyes were gleaming with mischief.

"Cyril you can join them if you wish or you can stay with me," Allen said as he looked at Cyril.

"Now. Why would I want to leave my dear children and adorable Tyki-pon!" Cyril said in a why-would-you-think-I-would-even-want-to-do-that tone, making Allen chuckle and Tyki wince.

"Alright, then let's get the fun started. Let me look in the treasure box for some 'toys'," Allen said as he headed towards the box.

"I want to help~!" Road said in a child-like voice as she hopped over to Allen.

"Alright, come on then," Allen said with smile as he began searching for the 'toys' he wanted.

After some discussion and compromises, Allen and Road took out all the 'toys' that they wanted and headed back to where Tyki and Cyril were watching them.

Without warning, Allen used the special whip that was in his hands to lash towards the man. The man cried out in agony as the very sharp spikes that adorned the whip connected with his flesh.

"Hey Road, how many lashes should I give him?" Allen asked with a devilish smile.

Road pursed her lips in thought before replying, "Mmm… how about… 26 to celebrate your birthday?"

Allen raised his eyebrow in amusement and chuckled, "Alright then, should I start over or just count that lash as the first lash?"

"I would love for you to start over, but then it wouldn't be 26 lashes, it would be 27," Road said with a smile while Tyki and Allen felt a cold sweat running down their face. Road was strangely technical during the most 'unique' moments.

Allen let out a nervous laugh and began lashing at the man in front of him, shredding through his clothes and skin while the man screamed in agony.

By the time Allen was finished, the man's clothing was in shreds and barely covering his body while the man was covered in blood and lacerations.

"Is it my turn now?" Road asked as she looked back and forth between the man and Allen with barely contained excitement.

"Yes, but―" Allen began with a smile.

"Road-dear. You shouldn't be looking at that man in front of you. You are simply too young," Cyril lightly scolded as he covered Road's eyes with his hands. Allen and Tyki just watched in amusement.

"Daddy! There's nothing in front of me that I haven't seen before!" Road said with a pout as she ducked under her father's hands to face him. Cyril gasped in mortification.

Cyril widened his eyes in shock. "Road-dear! What do you mean! Please tell me you are just joking."

Road crossed her arms and said with a mischievous smile, "I meant what I said~ I have seen everything already before. And it's my turn now~" Road turned around and walked forth as she grabbed one of the 'toys' of the ground.

Cyril followed Road and he was furious, his eyes were flaring with disgust and murderous intent, "Road-dear, who is this filthy thing that tainted you like that? I must erase his existence after making him suffer in eternal pain."

"But Daddy, it's not a thing, it's things!" Road said with an up-to-no-good glint in her eyes as she began slashing through the man's body with the knife in her hands.

Cyril gasped in horror and the fury in his eyes doubled, "Who are those filthy things then?"

"One of them was tortured dead...by me…" Road said with satisfaction as blood began gushing out of the newly-created wounds. And then with a devious smile, she turned around to face Tyki and Tyki raised his eyebrow questioning her while the wheels in Allen's head turned and he release a dark chuckle. "…and the other thing is _dear_ Tyki."

Tyki's eyes widened in horror and he began stuttering out, "Wh-what the HELL are yo-you talking about, Road! I never did such a thing!" The murderous glint in Cyril's eyes doubled as he turned around to face his _adorable_ little brother.

"Tyki! How dare you taint my dear little daughter!" Cyril growled out as he menacingly walked towards Tyki while the devious smile on Road's face widened. Tyki involuntarily began to back away from the approaching Cyril before he decided that the best thing to do right now was making everything except the ground go through him and just run.

Cyril began chasing after Tyki with a murderous aura and shouting out, "You little! How dare you! My precious little daughter!"

Soon they disappeared out of sight and Allen, who was previously watching the scene with amusement, turned to face Road with raised eyebrow and said, "Brilliantly done, Road. But I do feel a little bad for Tyki."

Road just burst out laughing and turned back to face the crucified man, "I couldn't help it, it was such a good opportunity to pay Tyki back, I just couldn't pass it up~"

Allen let out a chuckle and asked, "So, about done yet?"

"No, not yet, I am carving something on him right now," Road said as she carved out a 'n' on the man, who was barely conscious.

"What are you carving?" Allen asked with curiosity as he walked up to Road.

"Sinner," Road replied as she carved the 'e'.

"Befitting. But he is barely conscious… should I help him wake up?" Allen said as he reached Road and looked over her shoulder at her work.

"Sure. That would be great, I miss those screams," Road said as she flashed Allen a wicked yet grateful smile.

"Alright then," Allen replied, then turning towards Lulu, he called out, "Lulu!"

In a matter of seconds, Lulu was standing in front of Allen and asked, "What is it, Allen?"

"Do you mind fetching me a bucket of water?"

"Not at all… but what happened to Tyki and Cyril?" Lulu asked with raised eyebrow.

Allen let out a chuckle and replied, "Well… Road accused Tyki of showing her his naked body and… well… Cyril went after him." Allen burst out laughing again.

Lulu's eyes shone with amusement and let out a few chuckles, "Serves him right. I hope Cyril won't go easy on him."

Allen raised his eyebrow and asked, "What's up with everyone wanting Tyki to suffer?"

"It's because he is _way_ too close with you and you are _way_ too attached to him, Allen~" Road answered as she looked up with a smirk and Lulu had on a mischievous smile.

"So wouldn't it be… my fault?" Allen asked with an amused smile and a little guilt in his guts.

"Of course not, it's that good-for-nothing's fault," Lulu replied without mercy.

Allen just raised his eyebrow again. "Huh."

"Well, I will get the water then."

"Make sure it's **super** cold." Allen called out to Lulu who was walking away.

"Alright, be back soon," Lulu said before she disappeared from Allen's sight.

"You done?" Allen asked as he looked at Road's work.

"Yup. What should we do next?" Road said as she licked the blood off her fingers and the knife and narrowed her eyes at the taste, "Foul-tasting and bitter, yuck. That woman's blood was much tastier."

"Hehe. That's what Cyril and I said about his blood too. That guy over there's" Allen gestured towards the guy Jasdevi and Skin were 'playing' with, "blood doesn't taste that much better either."

"Huh, maybe it's because they are so demonic. Oh yeah, did I mention that we found some akumas hiding in this town as well?"

"So they are still here?"

"What do you mean?"

"There were akumas here the last time I was here too."

"Really?"

"Yeah. They were the ones that killed off those humans that 'disappeared'. I did try killing off a few of them, but there were still a few left."

"Damn those akumas," Road muttered.

"I think you already damned them by killing them off, which I assume you did," Allen said with a chuckle.

"I think it was Tyki who ordered their self-destruction after torturing them for a little while. Wish I was the one who did it though."

"I bet their screams were just a pleasure."

"I heard one or two and yeah, it was a pleasure." Road said with a smile.

"Allen, here's the water," Lulu said appearing out of nowhere, making Allen jump slightly.

"You scared me, Lulu. Mind not doing that again?" Allen asked as he turned around and took the bucket of water from Lulu with ease. "Thank you, Lulu."

"My pleasure. So those two still aren't back?" Lulu said as she looked around.

"Nope. They probably won't be back for a while." Allen replied with a smile as he held up the bucket and poured its contents at the crucified man.

The man's eyes shot open, releasing a choked scream, and he hissed in agony as the water rolled over all of his wounds.

"Oh yeah, I had forgotten to ask… what is your name?" Allen asked with an angelic smile as the man's face contorted in pain.

"Why the hell… would I tell you? You monster!" The man said and gasped with pain when a hand slapped him across the face rather harshly. Allen looked up and saw that it was Lulubelle who had slapped him.

Her eyes were blazing with hate and disgust, she shouted furiously, "How dare you call him a monster! You are the monster here."

"It's alright, Lulu…" Allen said with a sad smile that turned into a wicked one when he continued, "…after all, I am not done with him yet."

Lulu just smiled back with a sad look in her eyes and took a step back.

"Road… mind pulling out your candles?" Allen said as he turned to look at Road.

"Of course not," Road said as an army of candles appeared behind her.

"Road… I think you can put away some of those. I only need like… 20 or so." Allen said with a nervous laugh.

"Alright," Road said with a pout and only about 30 candles were left behind her.

"Mind getting me something like an iron rod?" Allen asked and Road nodded before bouncing off to the chest of 'toys' to retrieve what Allen wanted.

"Here you go," Road said as she bounced back towards Allen with the iron rod in hand and handed it to him.

"Thanks, mind lending me some fire?" Allen asked and a candle came forward with its flame. Allen placed the tip of the rod in the fire and holding it in place, he turned to face the horror-struck man with a smile. "Now… if you tell me kindly, I might not use this against you."

"D-doriel, my name is Doriel," the man said as he shook with fear.

"Doriel. Huh. Well, since you so _kindly_ suggested I be crucified and toss into a holy fire, I think you deserve this one," Allen struck the now burning rod onto the skin that was over the man's heart, right above Road's 'sinner', making the man let out a bloodcurdling scream. "My, what a pleasant sound you make."

"I agree, can I please use that next~?" Road asked with pleading eyes.

"Sure, why not. Lulu, would you like to have some fun as well?" Allen asked with a childish look on his face.

"Yes, I would. I do want to pay him back for calling you a monster," Lulu replied with a smile. Another bloodcurdling scream could be heard, "May I have that, Road?"

"Sure. I wonder where you are going to strike…" Road said with a thoughtful look as she handed the rod over to Lulu and stood back.

"You will see," Lulu replied with a smirk as she held the rod into the fire.

"Fine, hey Allen, what should we do next?" Road asked as she turned to Allen.

"Maybe I can borrow some of your candles as target practice? I did skip some training today because I was on the train." Allen said with a smile.

"Can I join you?" Road asked just as another muffled scream was heard and Allen and Road turned their head so that they could see where Lulubelle had strike, it was the mouth.

Allen let out some chuckles while Road just watched with an amused glint in her eyes.

"Hey, Doriel…" Said man looked up. "Did your town finally have some peace after I disappeared?"

"Of course we did! After the devil's child disappeared, the town returned to how it was before!" Doriel said with a smirk, but what he said was a little muffled, courtesy of Lulu.

"Well, that's a surprise since I would have thought you guys would have been slaughtered… after all, that serial killer did escape…" Allen said with a smile as Doriel's eyes widened in shock at this new revelation.

"Wh-what the hell do you mean? Th-that's impossible!" Doriel asked.

"Well you guys just wouldn't listen to me when I tried to explain the last time I was here," Allen said as he grabbed ahold of one of Road's candle. "It wasn't me who set the place on fire and I wasn't a murderer. You know the serial killer?" Doriel nodded. "Well, it turns out he had an accomplice that probably set the place on fire while he was trying to rescue to serial killer. That accomplice just decided to save me as well. And you know how you said I was the murderer?" Allen held up the candle. "Well, it was probably that accomplice who killed all those people you thought I killed, not ME!" Allen plunged the candle into the man's lungs. The man's scream stifled slightly by the sudden hole in his lungs, but it could probably still be heard a town or two away, if not for Cyril's powers.

A maniacal smile appeared on Allen's face as he started walking back a yard or so away and motioned for Road and Lulu to follow him. "Hey Road, lend me some of your candles." The candles appeared behind Road again and Allen grabbed one. "These can work like a dart… right?"

"Yup~!" Road said way-too-cheerfully.

Allen threw the candle and it hit its target, the belly button, square on. The scream that Doriel had released only widened Allen's already maniacal smile.

"Aw, Allen. You ruined part of my burnt mark!" Road said with a pout.

"Sorry, Road. Where should I hit next?" Allen asked as he grabbed another candle.

"How about over his heart?" Road suggested.

"Alright," Allen located his target and threw the candle, which landed precisely where he wanted. Doriel let out a strangled scream.

"Your aim is very precise, Allen." Lulubelle commented with a smile.

"Thank you. Any suggestion where I should hit next?"

"The eyes."

"I never would have thought you would suggest that, Lulu," Allen said with a smile as he took a candle in each of his hands.

"Well, that look of hatred in his eyes is amusing, but that look of disgust whenever he looks at you is just too much," Lulu explained as Allen held up his hands.

Allen threw the two candles and the outcry that came next confirmed he had hit his target. Doriel's wrists ripped through the nails that held them down as his hands flung towards his eyes.

"I am amazed that he still has the strength." Then noticing two new presences, his smile grew, "Since you two are back, mind helping me hold that man's arms to the cross so that I can pin them back in place?"

Lulu and Road looked around them in surprise and then two shadows flew by them. In seconds, Cyril and Tyki had appeared beside the man and each had one of the man's arm, holding them in line with the cross. Lulu and Road's eyes widened in surprise, they hadn't notice them, but they were impressed that Allen could sense them when they didn't.

"Thank you, be careful though," Allen said as he seized two candles and threw them. Another agonized scream pierced through the air as Tyki and Cyril let go of the arms and identical grins appeared on their faces.

"So you guys are finally back, took you long enough," Lulu remarked.

"It's a pity we didn't get to join in the fun," Tyki said as he walked towards Allen.

"At least you were back for the finale," Allen said with a smile.

"True."

"So how did it go on your end?" Allen questioned with a smirk as Tyki twitched.

"Annoying. But I am glad that I had Noah powers to help me," Tyki said as he reached Allen and wrapped his hands around the boy.

Lulu, Road and Cyril's eyes just narrowed and they watched the scene with slight displeasure.

"Get away from my son. Don't corrupt him as well!" Cyril said as his hands landed on Tyki's shoulders and pulled the man, who was now glaring at him, back. Allen just watched with an amused smile.

Cyril and Tyki started bickering and Allen just turned to Road, "Mind helping me take care of the rest? I am bored of Doriel already. I need to check on the other man to make sure the twins and Skin didn't wreck him so much that he is unrecognizable."

"No problem~ Should I leave him mostly intact?"

"Yes, please do. I plan on doing something with them later." Allen said with a devious smile.

"Alright then, thank you Allen~" Road said as he skipped towards Doriel who was watching her with fear.

"Lulubelle, mind coming with me?" Allen asked as he started heading towards the other crucifix.

"My pleasure," Lulu replied and she followed Allen after flashing a glance at the still-bickering brothers and inwardly smirked when they didn't notice they had been left alone.

What greeted Allen on the other crucifix was a man covered in blood and still-bleeding-lacerations. His clothing was tattered, barely covering him, while his eyes were a cloud of pain and fear. Allen was happy that the man was still mostly intact physically.

"Hey, Skin! Hey, Jasdevi! Did you guys have fun?" Allen asked as he approached them.

Skin nodded with the ghost of a pleased smile while Jasdevi shouted, "Hell yeah!"

"Good. Then Jasdevi, can you please help me start lighting the town on fire?" Allen asked.

"No problem!" Jasdero and Debitto said, completely in sync, and then they instantly dashed off and pulled out their guns. Roars of fire starting up could soon be heard and Allen smiled at the twin's efficiency.

"Tyki!" Allen called out without looking at the man. Almost instantly, said man appeared out of nowhere with a smile.

"You called?" Tyki asked as a "Where the hell did he went?" could be heard from behind Allen.

"Yes I did. Can you please help me reject the fire from reaching the crucifixes and the men that are on them? I would like them to still be intact and recognizable when others discover them," Allen requested.

"No problem, but why?" Tyki questioned and started getting to work.

"Because I want them to be seen and I have a message for the ones who find them," Allen replied and out of nowhere, a dagger appeared in Allen's right hand and he approached the crucified man.

"What message?" Tyki asked as Allen plunged his dagger deep into the man's abdomen and an anguished cry could be heard.

"You will see later, mind lifting me up to where his arm is?" Allen said as he pulled out the dagger and the air under him began rising him. Allen began carving some words on the wood with the bloodied dagger and when he was done he had on a satisfied smile.

"Bring me to Doriel please," Allen said and his eyes met confused golden ones. "Doriel is that other guy."

"Oh I see." Tyki said as he, Lulu and Skin began following the floating boy.

"Road, you done?" Allen asked as he approached Doriel and Road who was standing in front of the man with a wicked smile.

"Just about. How about the other guy?" Road asked as she looked up. Allen looked into Doriel's eyes and he could tell the man was in Road's dream world.

"He is going to bleed to death. I have already told Jasdevi to start lighting fire. We should go soon, where are the carriages anyways?" Allen asked as he reached the man's left wrist.

"I had daddy and Skin bring them just outside the town's entrance before any blood could get on it." Road said with a smile as Allen started carving on the wood with his dagger.

"That's good. It would be suspicious if we had blood on our carriages."

"Yeah… what are you carving?" Road peered up at Allen with curiosity.

"A message for the people who are going to find them fully intact," Allen replied with a grin.

"What's the message?"

"I will tell you later."

"We are done!" A voice exclaimed behind Allen.

"What are you doing, Allen?" Another voice asked.

"Hey Jasdero. Hey Debitto. I am carving a message. Can you please help me light a ring of fire to surround that man over there? And please do try not to get the fire onto the man, but I did take the precaution of having Tyki use his power to reject fire from the air around these two man. After you are done with that man, come back and I should be done by then, so do the same thing with this guy, got it?"

"Hai (yes)!" the twins said before bouncing off to the other man with their guns out.

"Okay! Done! Please let me down, Tyki." Allen called out a few moments later and the air under him gently let him down. "Thank you."

"Oy, Allen-"

"-you done?"

"Yes. You can do it now," Allen replied as he spared a glance at the twin's direction before walking towards Tyki. "Let's go, guys, it's time. Jasdevi, meet us by the town's entrance."

"Okay!" Jasdevi replied as they began shooting red bullets at the trail of oil they made on the ground.

Allen turned around to start towards the town's entrance and then realized there was fire surrounding them everywhere, "Damn it, Jasdevi! Shouldn't you have remembered that we still needed to leave? Why did you light the entire town on fire AND surround us with fire!"

"Oops!" Jasdero winced at the harsh tone Allen had used.

"Sorry Allen!" Debitto apologize and hoped that Allen wasn't too pissed off, because even though Allen was still a 11-year-old, he could be as scary as the Earl when he was seriously pissed off.

"Whatever. Tyki, mind rejecting the fire from the air around us?"

"Alright." Tyki replied with a smirk and began doing as he was asked.

"Thanks. Jasdevi?" The twins looked at Allen. "You guys are going to have to get through the fire yourselves," Allen said with a devious smile.

"But that will burn us!" Jasdero protested.

"You guys are Noahs, you will be able to regenerate." Allen said coldly as he began walking away with the rest of the Noahs besides Jasdevi.

"It will still hurt!" Debitto said as he was suddenly grateful he had regenerating abilities and that Allen wasn't too pissed off.

"That's your own problem!" Allen said before he disappeared out of sight along with the rest of the family.

* * *

**At the Black Order... two days or so later...**

"Komui! They are back!" A voice called out as its source approached the messy desk. There was a sleeping man buried under a bunch of work. When the voice's source didn't get any response, the source inhaled a big breath before shouting out into the sleeping man's ears, "KANDA IS MAKING A MOVE ON LENALEE!"

Komui's head instantly snapped up, making the stack of books and paper that was on top of his head tumble, landing on the man's back and everywhere. "Ouch! LENALEE! Kanda! How could you!" Komui jumped up from his seat, but tripped over a book that had fallen down and landed face-first on another book. "Ouch."

"Komui! The group is back!"

"Oh it's just you, Reever. What group is back?" Komui asked as he looked up from his position.

"General Nyne's group!" Reever replied with annoyance.

"Oh! They are? Are the two corpses and crucifixes with them as well?" Komui asked as he straightened up.

"No, they are going to arrive separately on a carriage later," Reever replied with a serious glint in his eyes.

"Then let's meet General Nyne's group. Can you also bring us a finder that is from Tonnerre or from around that area?" Komui requested as he walked towards his office's door.

"Alright, where are you heading?"

"The boat deck and then we will be coming back to my office," Komui said with a serious face.

"Understood."

**A few minutes later...**

"General Nyne, Sol, Tina and Soma, come on in!" Komui said as he pushed open the doors to his office and motioned the three exorcists and one finder to enter his office.

"Alright. Komui, did you find out anything that might help us with this?" General Nyne said as she stepped into the office and headed towards one of the couches.

"First, can Soma please tell us everything that happened?" Komui asked the finder as he sat down on his chair and clasped his hands together.

"O-of course! Well, I suddenly got a call on my portable phone and on the other end was another finder who was in a panic because his group had found a burning Tonnerre and two men crucified. I informed the Exorcists-sama about it and they told me to tell that finder that we will get there right away since we were the nearest group to that town. So after getting on the first train that headed towards the train station near Tonnerre, we traveled on the train for a few hours while keeping in contact with that group. When we got off the train, we rushed towards Tonnerre on foot and when we neared the entrance of the town, we could see the group of finders. They quickly explained to us what they saw that had brought them to Tonnerre, the entire down was burning in flames. The way that they described it was particularly weird. They said that one minute there was nothing but forest in front of them, the next they saw a big mass of burning fire a mile or so in front of them. By the time they got to the entrance, they couldn't do anything but watch the town burn because there was no water source anywhere near them but inside the town, and the town's entrance was impossible to pass through. They also said that when they glanced around, they saw two carriages quite a distance away. By the time my group got there, the fire was almost dead and everything was in ashes except for two crucified man that stood in the middle of the clearing completely unharmed from the fire. We then quickly contacted headquarters after some investigation. We also found some words carved onto the crucifixes of the two men and the two man appeared to have been tortured," Soma explained as he looked directly at Komui.

"How badly tortured were they?" Komui asked.

"They were in very bad shape. From what I could tell, one of them probably died from blood loss. The other, I am not sure."

"Do you still remember the words carved on the crucifixes?"

"Yes."

"Can you please repeat them to me?"

"One of the crucifixes said: "Those that have sinned shall pay." while the other crucifix said: "These people will be damned even after death.""

"What have the people of Tonnerre done to deserve such a fate?" General Nyne suddenly spoke up and her question was directed at Komui.

"I am not sure, but I have had Reever help me retrieve a finder that either comes from Tonnerre or around Tonnerre. Maybe he will be able to give us some clue," Komui had a thoughtful look on his face. Suddenly a knock was heard. "Come on in," Komui called out.

The knocker opened the door and it was Reever, behind him was a man dressed in Finders clothing. "This is Marcel, and he is from Tonnerre. He just became a finder about 3 years ago," Reever introduced while the man behind him bowed in greeting.

"Good afternoon, Marcel. I am Komui and these fellows here are General Nyne, Sol, Tina and Soma, I have called you here because I have some questions concerning Tonnerre," Komui said as he pointed to whomever he was introducing.

"I see, if you have any questions, feel free to ask. My duty is to aid you guys in any way I can," Marcel said with a smile.

"Well I think we should first tell you something before we start, do you know what happened to Tonnerre?" Komui asked.

"No, can you please tell me?" Marcel inquired while looking at Komui.

"Well... Two days ago, a group of finders discovered the entire Tonnerre in flames and they couldn't do anything but watch while the entire town was reduced to ashes," Komui explained and Marcel gasped in shock with widened eyes.

"I-is everyone okay?" Marcel cried out.

"No, everyone that was in the town during that time has passed away and I have come to the conclusion that they were all murdered before the culprits decided to leave." Komui explained with a grim-looking face.

"I-if you said that the place was completely reduced to ashes... how could you tell that they were all murdered and not just burnt alive?" Marcel croaked out and his eyes were clouded with grief and pain.

"Because there were two crucified men that were completely unharmed by the fire but from what I have heard, they were brutally tortured before they died. Also there were some carved words on the crucifix that have led me to believe they were murdered," Komui said with a troubled expression while Marcel's eyes widened even more with horror.

"Wh-what are those words?" Marcel said as tears began to well up in his eyes. His brother's family and his parents were still back in Tonnerre and chances were, they were probably dead, all of them.

"They were carved separately... Soma, can you please repeat the words?" Komui said and Soma replied with a nod.

"One of them said: "Those who have sinned shall pay." while the other said: "These people will be damned even after death."," Soma repeated and Marcel's eyes were now filled with even more horror.

"Marcel, we were wondering if you could tell us anything about what might have led to these people's fate? And normally, the police would have handled this case instead of us, but our finders found the scene first and this case is just too...mysterious," Komui said.

"Well... I think I might know what this 'sin' is, but I am not sure who the culprits could be..." Marcel replied as he remembered something.

"Please do tell us what you think the 'sin' is," Komui's eyes flickered with hope.

"Alright. Well, about five years ago, a white-haired child came into our town," Marcel started and Klaud's eyes widened in shock, but the others were too focus on Marcel to notice. "No one would house him because of his white hair and deformed arm, except for this old lady. However, a few days later, that lady disappeared and the town couldn't find any traces of where she possibly could be, so the townspeople just assumed it was the white-haired kid who had something to do with it, but they didn't have enough evidence. A few days later, more people in Tonnerre disappeared, including my younger brother, the townspeople immediately accused the boy as the cause of the disappearances so they decided to frame the boy with fake witnesses and they successfully sent the boy to jail. But the night before the transfer of a few prisoners, including that boy, and the trial of a recently-captured serial murderer, the jail and police station suddenly caught on fire. A rescue team was sent in because there were particularly a lot of police officers and prison guards that night. However, the rescue team came back out empty-handed and said that everyone in there was brutally murdered and they couldn't check the jail because the fire had blocked them. Suddenly, the white-haired kid came out of the fire and was mostly unharmed. The townspeople started accusing him of being the murderer, a monster, the devil's child and the one who started the fire. Someone suggested that he be crucified and burned in holy fire so that peace may come back to Tonnerre. They started preparing but that kid started running away and ran into the forest. The townspeople began chasing the kid and after a while, screams of pain could be heard coming from the forest. Suddenly the screams stopped and after a hour or so... The people who went in came back out saying that after they caught up with the kid and started beating him, but then they said they heard a woman singing and soon lost consciousness. When they came to, the kid was nowhere in sight and they decided it was time to go back," Marcel explained as he relived through those memories in his mind and he had a troubled expression in his eyes.

"How could they do that to a kid?" Tina suddenly spoke out in anger.

"Calm down, Tina. I think Marcel still has something to say, don't you?" Komui said as emotionlessly as he could. This was a horrible thing to do to a kid and it reminded him of Lenalee.

"Yes, I do. Actually one of those nights before the kid was sent to jail, I was returning late from the forest and I saw this monster looking thing in front of the kid and one of the townspeople. The monster started shooting at the kid and that other guy. The kid tried to protect the guy, but that monster knocked him to a tree and then shot the guy with this light. The guy's body began covering in black stars and then he was reduced to ashes. The monster turned to the kid but then the kid's left arm had turned to this claw-like thing and pierced the monster with it. That monster exploded. I went up to the kid and he was a little surprised I witnessed it and made me promise not to tell a soul about what just happened. I promised and he told me that the monster was called an akuma and that arm of his was called an Innocence. He also told me a little about finders and Exorcists. A few days later, that kid was framed and arrested. I would have tried to help, but I caught a pretty bad fever and sore throat. The night the police station caught on fire, I was almost back to shape, but I still had to stay in bed, so I couldn't say anything. I watched everything from my house's front porch. After all that mess, I told my brother about what I saw and told him that we need to clear up the kid's name, but my brother thought I was having hallucinations and stuff and told me not to tell anyone about what I just told him. A few months later, I met a couple of Exorcists and a finder, I asked them if I could become a finder and then after bidding my goodbyes and telling the town I was going to find an out-of-town job, I followed that group," Marcel explained. The people in the room were all amazed, shocked, horrified and speechless.

"That kid's an Innocence accommodator? And how does he know all this stuff anyways?" Sol exclaimed, speaking everyone's thoughts, except General Nyne's.

"H-hey, Marcel..." General Nyne said and looked up at Marcel.

"Yes, General Nyne?" Marcel asked.

"W-would you happen to know that kid's name?" General Nyne asked and she was still a little shaken by what she just learned.

"Yes, I do."

"What is it?"

"If I remember correctly, it's Allen."

General Nyne's eyes widened and her suspicions were confirmed. There can only be one white-haired kid with a deformed in all of Europe that is named Allen. By now, everyone's attention was focused on Marcel and General Nyne and they didn't miss her reaction.

"What is wrong, General Nyne?" Komui asked with a worried expression.

"N-nothing," General Nyne quickly said, she didn't want to let the Order know that Allen was her former teacher's grandson and she had begun training him a little before he disappeared. Komui and the others weren't fool by General Nyne's answer at all, but they didn't dare to press on. After all, the General was higher ranked than they were and if she wanted to say what was on her mind, then she would have done so already.

"Alright, if you say so, General. However, does anyone have any idea who the culprits could be? And I am sure there's more than one because one person couldn't have possibly caused so much damage," Komui asked with a frown.

"Could it have possibly been that white-haired kid, Allen?" Sol suggested.

"But if it was him, wouldn't he have been turned into a Fallen One? After all, his Innocence would have judged him," Komui said as he thought about Sol's suggestion.

"A Fallen One? What do you mean, Komui?" Tina asked.

"You guys probably don't know this, but a Fallen One is an accommodator whom the Innocence has judged as a traitor to God and itself and thus, will turn against its accommodator and destroy them from within," Komui explained, but he wasn't telling the whole truth. "And we haven't heard of any Fallen Ones lately. If Allen did take part in murdering the town, his Innocence would have probably judged him for it and turned him into a Fallen One."

The others just looked at him in horror except for General Nyne who seemed to be slightly relieved at this new revelation, but a tad worried because she had seen Allen on the train that was heading towards the direction of Tonnerre.

"Anyways, we will have to find the culprits because this case is just too unusual. We also need to be on the lookout for that white-haired kid, Allen, because we now know he's an accommodator and the Order needs all the exorcists we can find."

* * *

**Back with the Noahs…**

"Hey Allen~!" Road called out as she bounced into Allen's room in the Earl's mansion. They had decided to use Road's door to get back after disposing the carriage so that they could return home faster. Allen was sitting on Tyki's lap, which Road glared at Tyki for, and they were reading a book.

"Yes, Road?" Allen asked as he looked up from the page and greeted Road with a smile.

"Did you have fun with your surprise?" Road asked with expectant eyes.

"I sure did, Road. I love your surprise. Thank you very much," Allen replied with a wicked smile.

* * *

_**Hey guys... so how was those 20,000 words? happy? like it? enjoyed it? not satisfied? It does finally have bloodshed and at first I did think about just breaking this chapter in half so I could update faster, but then I didn't really feel like going along with that idea and i didn't rly want to have to think of another chapter name and use another chapter for this little 'arc'. **_

_**So... Klaud finally meets Allen again. And she might have a little OCC-ness (not sure), but you can't rly call it OCC-ness since they didn't really develop her character that much. and same for Skin... well. actually they did have almost an entire episode for Skin. but still. :) Anyways... Klaud finally sees Allen again... after about 3-4 years. She also learns a little about what happened to him. **_

_**Allen is such a little actor. :P and a devil. :P**_

_**How were those TykixAllen moments? i had several 'cloud nine' in this chapter. XD maybe that's why I wanted to use Klaud Nyne instead. In case you don't know, cloud nine is a state of perfect happiness/blissfulness. :) I feel a little bad for Tyki for having to suffer under Cyril's... wrath. :P Road~ :P So... Allen is God's Chosen Child huh. :) How were those bloodshed? I love that whip. "Those that have sinned shall pay." and "These people will be damned even after death." XD **_

_**The dresses that Lulu and Road wore are in the "~In the Closet~" place on my profile~ if you wanna check it out, feel free~ :) If I made any typos or mistakes, feel free to tell me coz.. by the time I was proofreading this I was a little tired. **_

_**Okay... I am getting a little tired... so I am actually going to hit the sack early tonight...or early morning. :P I wonder how many review alert emails i will get in the morning... *expectant eyes* that was 20,000 words that you read! So.. please drop your author a review~~ I would appreciate it tons.**_

_**Cya next chapter~**_

_**~Zen **_


	10. Chapter 10: The Clock

**A/N: Special Thanks to: lemonlimediddies, Miss Jessi-Pon, Shadow of a Life, Kazzaspexy, silverXshadow, ReonRowan, Firehedgehog, GothicGirl12, The White Wanderer, signrain, XxXxSeriously InjuredxXxX, cute-nina, Sachiel Angelo, dgm-mega fan, MnMsRoK, AnonymousShadowReader1, RmfD, DeathHeiress88, Terra1298, Zephel, 100thAngel and 'i want to make you happy' ! That was 22 REVIEWS, you guys! You guys are like super duper ultra awesome! ****J And thanks to everyone who has put my story on story alert and/or favorites list! I am so glad that this story has so many readers~~! *super duper happy mode* and omg… I have gotten 102 reviews in total~ It has finally reached the 100s! Do you know how happy that makes me? Even more happy. **

**Anyways… without further ado… I think I should get started on this chapter so you guys can start as well. **

**Btw… just to make it clear… I am not a Lenalee fan. Like not at all. Yeah she looks sorta cute, but I just don't like her. :P so… I might torture her a little in my story… like this chapter. Hope the people who are Lenalee fans will be okay and continue to read my story~ I kept forgetting to mention it. This chapter does have some of my Lenalee hate in it. Sorry to you Lenalee fans. Actually no, I am not sorry. Coz that's just how I am. *shrugs* I can't help that I dont like her and be impartial to her. **

**Even though in the anime subs and stuff, it's spelled Matel, I am going to be spelling it Martel instead, just coz I like it better that way, I guess. **

**Warnings: some torture and I guess some cursing. *shrugs* well… most of the cursing comes from Kanda… I wonder why *sarcasm* lol. Hehe. **

**Enjoy~! I hope the action scenes won't be too confusing to understand! I am not that good at them… and I am sorry for any typos or such that i miss. **

* * *

**Chapter 10 –The Clock**

* * *

**4 years later…**

"Allen~ You are back!" Road called out with a big smile on her face as she ran towards Allen with open arms and wrapped him in a warm embrace. Then she saw Tyki standing behind Allen and narrowed her eyes, "And you are back as well, Tyki."

Tyki just smirked at Road's obvious annoyance towards him. She had been annoyed at him ever since the Earl had assigned the Ghost of Martel mission to Tyki and Allen, but Tyki didn't really care because it just meant more alone time for him and _his_ shounen.

Allen noticed the uneasiness between Tyki and Road, but he decided that playing naïve and oblivious just seemed like the better choice. "Hi Road, I missed you! Did you finish up your homework yet?" Then noticing Road's silence, he chuckled to himself and added, "And I assume you didn't, I figured."

"Hey! What do you mean by that, Allen?" Road feigned being hurt by Allen's remark and pulled back to look at him.

"Nothing, just that I didn't expect you to be done anyways," Allen said with an innocent smile. Seeing Road's pout when he said that, he added with a sweet smile, "Well, not that I mind. Since it means that I will be able to do my homework with you instead of doing it alone."

Road's pout was immediately replaced by a delighted smile and Tyki's face pulled into a frown. "You are the best, Allen~! I love you!" Road said joyfully as she tightened her hands around Allen and leaned in so that she rested on the junction between Allen's neck and shoulder bone. Allen had grown taller over this past four years and he was now slightly taller than Road. '_Allen smells so nice and sweet~_' Road thought to herself as she inhaled Allen's scent while Tyki looked troubled at this turn of events.

Allen just smiled and sneaked a glance at Tyki from the corner of his eyes. When he saw Tyki's expression, he just laughed inwardly and said, "Road, get your homework and I will meet you in your room with mine after I take a shower and clean up, okay?"

"Okay~ See you later, Allen!" Road said as she stepped back and bounced off to her room.

"Hey… Shounen… are you really going to be doing homework with Road later?" Tyki asked hesitantly as a black cat started approaching them, unnoticed by Tyki who was too deep in his thoughts.

"Yeah, is there a problem?" Allen asked innocently as he noticed the black cat. "Hello, Lulu!"

The black cat purred and hopped up to Allen's outstretched arms. "Hello, Allen. Was it a success?" Lulu asked as she began cuddling up against Allen while Tyki flickered a glance of annoyance at the new arrival.

'_Will I __ever __get any alone time with Allen in this house?'_Tyki thought as he started glaring at Lulu who looked way too comfortable in Allen's arms. When Lulu felt the glare, she just glanced at him with a smirk which made Tyki even more annoyed and frustrated.

"It was very successful. There were also two exorcists there. One of them was especially beautiful, he would make a great doll," Allen replied as he remembered those cobalt eyes and long flowing night blue hair. "He looked a little feminine with his waist length hair though."

'_Curse that exorcist. I hope his hair will get all chopped off!'_ Tyki thought as he started inwardly cursing at the exorcist.

"Tyki… is something wrong? You look... troubled," Allen asked innocently with a worried face.

"Oh… heh, I am not troubled. I was just thinking about something," Tyki said with a nervous laugh, he would never let Allen know he was cursing the exorcist.

"Tyki, you are jealous. Just admit it," Lulubelle suddenly stated with a smug look.

"What are you talking about, Lulu? Of course I am not jealous!" Tyki said with his 'what are you talking about' face as he started cursing Lulu inwardly as well.

"Tyki… why are you lying?" Allen asked, easily seeing through Tyki's lie. "You know that you will always be my favorite, right?"

What Allen said shocked both Lulu and Tyki and they were speechless for a short while, especially how casually and easily he said it. Lulu started to inwardly curse Tyki and narrowed her eyes at him, but snuggled closer to Allen. "Lulu, don't worry, I love you too," Allen added as he started stroking Lulu's fur and Lulu let out a purr of satisfaction.

"I am glad, Allen," Tyki said with a gentle smile and forgot all about that certain blue-haired exorcist and Road. They didn't matter to him anymore, as long as he was still Allen's closest person, Tyki was happy and content. Then suddenly remembering something, "Crap. I have got to make a report to the Earl about our mission. Allen, do you want me to carry that doll to your room for you?"

"What doll?" Lulu asked, noticing a blonde hair girl with closed eyes held by Tyki for the first time.

"Oh nothing special, Tyki just got me a singing doll during our mission," Allen said joyfully with a smile.

"A singing doll?"

"Yeah. It is caused by Innocence. The people of Martel were living in pain and despair so in order to forget about their situation, they made a doll that sung and danced. Since Tyki remembered that I love music, he decided to keep the Innocence instead of destroying it," Allen explained as he flashed a grateful smile towards Tyki while Lulu just narrowed her eyes once again at Tyki.

"So should I bring it to your room for you, Shounen?" Tyki asked, ignoring Lulu.

"Sure. Go ahead. You still have the Innocence with you and haven't put it back into the doll yet, right?" Allen asked as he stared at the doll while petting Lulu between her ears.

"Yeah, it's in my inner coat pocket. Would you like me to put it in?"

"No, it's fine for now. But mind putting the Innocence in that box on my desk? And you better not damage the Innocence, so be careful, okay?" Allen requested with a sweet smile.

"Sure. Anything you say, Shounen. See you later then!" Tyki said with a smile as he began walking towards Allen's room.

"Tyki, the Earl said we are going to have family dinner along with a family meeting today in the Ark. Be at the dining room by 7. Don't be late," Lulu called out and Tyki immediately stopped in his tracks, muttering a curse or two.

"Darn. Don't tell me Cyril is going to be there as well!" Tyki said as he turned his head to face Lulu.

"The Earl already called Cyril to request his presence, and Cyril said he will be here but might be a little late," Lulu said, clearly enjoying Tyki's annoyance.

"Damn it. Whatever. Bye!" Tyki said and continued towards Allen's room.

* * *

**Later at dinner... before the desserts...**

"Now, my children. Let's begin our family meeting," the Earl said as he looked around to make sure that everyone was finished with dinner. Everyone was in formal attire and they were seated wherever they preferred.

"But, Millennie~ Daddy is not here yet!" Road said after wiping her lips with a napkin like a proper lady. Several akuma maids came in and began setting down their traditional dessert ― it was a white boiled egg with a wide smiley face on a silver champagne-glass like holder.

"True. Where is father?" Allen asked as he looked around. "And why are we in the Ark instead?" Everyone that was present was sitting at a round table that had floating pictures surrounding it and the setting was an ominous purple, but no one was bothered by it.

"Cyril will be coming in a few minutes, I think. Why don't you check on him, Rodo?" the Earl replied and Road nodded in reply, then he added, "Allen-dear, how did the mission with Tyki-pon go?"

"It went well. The exorcists have been busy. But we got hold of the Innocence instead of them. Speaking of which… I have a request…" Allen said as he nodded in thanks when the akuma maid placed the dessert in front of him. He was probably the most well-mannered and the only one who would thank the maids in the entire family.

"What is it, Allen-dear?" the Earl asked, looking at Allen. He had sent Allen and Tyki on a mission to observe how the exorcists were doing, but didn't really expect them to get hold of an Innocence, it was a bonus.

"Instead of destroying the Innocence, I still have the Innocence in my room and I was wondering if I could keep it in order to operate a singing doll?"

"A doll?" the Earl questioned, he was a little surprise about this. Tyki was supposed to report to him, but Tyki had been too caught up with the fact that his brother was coming and some other business he had to take care of, so he didn't have the time to go report to the Earl about their mission.

"Yes, the Ghost of Martel is actually an Innocence-powered doll that can sing and dance. Tyki remembered that I love music, so he decided to keep this doll and the Innocence to give to me as a present. I was wondering if I could keep my present…" Allen explained and started looking at the Earl with expecting eyes.

"Allen-dear~ of course you can keep your present. You can see this as a reward for your good job! I heard that your teachers kept on praising you," the Earl replied, making Allen blush. The Earl didn't really like the idea of keeping an Innocence, but since Allen took a liking to that doll and he would be saddened if he didn't get to keep it, he was fine with keeping the Innocence.

"I-it was nothing! Thank you so much, Millennie~!" Allen said with a bright smile. And that bright smile made Millennie think he would do anything to keep that smile on Allen.

"Allen~! Can I play with the doll along with you as well?" Road suddenly asked. She loved dolls and she especially loves playing dolls with Allen.

"Of course, Road. As long as you don't break my doll, okay?" Allen then added, "So where is father?"

"Daddy is wrapping up his work now and he is coming soon," Road replied with a smile and began taking a bite of her egg.

"That's―" Allen started but was broke off by an angry shout of, "It's not sweet!"

Everyone in the family looked over at Skin, just in time to see him land a punch on a nearby Akuma's face. "You worthless bitch! Didn't I tell you to make it sweet?"

Skin began beating up the Akuma and the sleeves of his dress coat and dress shirt began ripping apart until nothing was left of it.

"Oi, oi…"Tyki began with a frown and Skin stops moving. "Don't show us disgusting things during our meal."

"Tyki!" Allen said and shot a warning glance towards Tyki, Tyki replied with a "what?" face. "Don't be so mean."

"I'm going back. Your tastes don't suit me," Skin said as he walked towards the door that led to the hallway.

"What? You can at least eat one egg… you sweet-toothed fool." Tyki said with his gloved hand propped against his face.

Choosing to ignore Tyki's remark, Skin neared the door, but then he felt a tug on his shirt and he looked back, finding Allen tugging at his shirt to stop him and Skin's face immediately softened.

"Skin, I apologize for Tyki. Here is something for you to make up for him," Allen said as he let go of Skin's shirt and pulled out a lollipop from his pocket, holding it out for Skin.

"Thank you, Allen," Skin said with the ghost of a smile as he took the lollipop and began unwrapping the lollipop right away.

"Bye, Skin~" Allen said with a soft smile as Skin placed the lollipop in his mouth. Skin walked out of the room and Allen hopped back to his seat, but not before whacking Tyki on the head.

"Ouch! What was that for?" Tyki exclaimed and clutched the spot that Allen hit with his unoccupied hand.

"For being mean to Skin!" Allen said as he sat in his seat, which was between Road and Tyki, once again.

"Well, he was the one protesting! Why did you give him a lollipop and then gave me a whack on the head?" Tyki said childishly.

"Calm down. We finally get to have a family dinner. Right, Millennie?" Road asked as she placed the dessert's spoon in her mouth and looked at the Earl, but the Earl just continued eating. "To bring back the mood, isn't it about time you told us the reason why you asked us here to eat dinner?"

The last remark caught the rest of the family's attention; they were wondering the same thing themselves.

"Could it be…" Road starts as she takes out the spoon and props her right hand against her face, "It's time to start?"

Allen widened his eyes while everyone watched the Earl intently. The Earl placed his spoon on the table and wiped his mouth with a napkin before looking up at his family, "We need to―"

The door to the dining room suddenly opens, earning everyone's attention, and it was none other than Cyril Kamelot at the door with a smile.

Cyril bowed to his family in greeting, "Good seeing you, my family. I hope I wasn't too late and didn't miss anything."

"Ah~ Cyril-dear. No you came at just the right time," the Earl said as Cyril walked towards his seat, but then his eyes caught the sight of his two children and his brother.

"Allen~ Road~ Tyki~ You guys are here!" Cyril said as he rushed towards the three of them. His children were looking at him with a smile and Tyki was looking at him with narrowed eyes.

"Father!"

"Daddy! You are here!" Road said as Cyril wrapped his arms around her and gave her a hug before releasing her.

"Yes. Allen! Where have you been?" Cyril asked as he turned around and pulled Allen into a hug as well.

"I was on a mission. I thought I told you about it?" Allen asked as he returned the hug.

"Oh~ That's right, are you okay? You hurt anywhere?" Cyril asked as he pulled back and began searching his son's body for any evidence of an injury with his eyes.

"No, I was fine," Allen said with a chuckle and a smile.

"I am so glad~! I didn't know what I would have done if you had gotten hurt!"

"You would have started crying," Road inputted and Allen silently agreed.

"Of course I would―" Cyril started, but then his eyes landed on Tyki, "TYKI!"

Cyril was beside Tyki in a split second and wrapped his arms around his brother before Tyki could get away. Cyril then started fussing over his brother and treated Tyki like a little kid. Tyki started cursing in his mind and when he finally got too annoyed, he used his powers and caused Cyril to hug thin air.

"Father, I think you should go sit down now. We should begin," Allen said with a smirk.

"Alright, son," Cyril said as he straightened himself and walked towards his seat.

"Now that we are all here, my dear children. Let's do our best to capture some Innocence. If you like, feel free to use the Akumas I have made," the Earl said as he clasped his hands in front of him on the table as Cyril sat down beside Road.

Tyki closed his eyes as a smile appeared on his face, "Innocence, huh? It's finally time?"

"Yup! I will take part~ It seems interesting," Road said as she raised her hand and a smile appeared on her face as well.

"It does seem interesting. Will I be allowed to join as well?" Allen asked and looked at the Earl for a response.

"Of course you can, Allen-dear. You are a part of our family as well!" the Earl exclaimed with an even wider smile on his face.

"Yay! Thank you, Millennie!" Allen said joyfully with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Who will be the first to go, Millennie?" Road asked. "Can I go?"

"Sure sure, Road~ Would you like to take along anyone with you?" The Earl asked, but he knew the answer to that question already and he was not disappointed.

"Yes! May I?" Road was very excited and she was having a hard time sitting still.

"Yes, but who will you take?" The Earl asked and everyone, even him, could see the obvious choice. Allen just inwardly smiled a devious smile.

"Allen! I want to go there with Allen~! Can I?" Road asked as she jumped out of her seat and wrapped her arms around Allen.

"Yes, you can. But…" the Earl began and a dangerous glint appeared in his eyes, "You must make sure he comes back without harm. Okay?"

Even though the Earl was smiling like usual, he was emitting an aura that made the rest of them, except for Allen, flinch and fear what would happen if Allen didn't come back without harm.

"Can I go as well, Earl?" Tyki asked, he didn't like being away from his Shounen.

"Sorry, Tyki-pon. But you just came back from your mission and I have something else for you to take care of, so no," the Earl said as his aura returned to normal and Road was ecstatic that she gets to go on the mission alone with Allen.

"Yes, Earl," Tyki said as his hopes died and he knew it was useless to try and change the Earl's mind.

"Then we have finished our meeting. Road, report back when you return, okay?" the Earl announced as he got up.

"Hai, Millennie~!" Road said and the Earl disappeared. "Let's go to my room to finish up our homework, Allen~"

"Alright, Road. Bye, Tyki!" Allen said with a wave as Road got up.

"Will you be joining me tonight, Shounen?" Tyki asked as he looked at Allen who was now getting up.

"Nah-uh, Tyki-pon! Allen will be with me tonight and tomorrow. He is mine~" Road said as she took hold of Allen's right arm and Tyki slightly flinched at his nickname.

Allen let out a 'whatever' sigh and said with an apologetic smile, "Sorry, Tyki."

"Allen…"

"Tyki-pon~ Allen is mine tonight, okay? You sleep with him practically _every_ single night. I can count the times I have slept with him with my hands!" Road said as she began yanking Allen away to her room. Allen knew it was useless to try to interfere anymore or to try and correct them. He didn't belong to neither of them, but they just can't seem to get it through their thick skull.

"Tyki, just let it be. We can have fun after the mission is done," Allen said as he rolled his eyes and easily got out of Road's grasp. He appeared on Tyki's lap in a split second and gave him a hug, the softly whispered so that only Tyki could hear him, "Plus… you wouldn't want Road to affect your sleep, would you?"

Tyki suppressed a shiver caused by Allen's words and Allen pulled back. Allen gently kissed Tyki's cheek and bid him goodbye before getting off and leaving with Road.

* * *

**Meanwhile… over at the Black Order…**

"Probably… I thought it was certain… Innocence," Komui said, obviously drained of energy and worn out, with a book opened on top of his head and books piling up all around him. His statement caused a night-blue-haired man to stare at him like he was insane, which he probably was, and a girl with dark green hair in long pigtails to have on a strained smile.

"Even though I said probably... It's tricky, but it's definitely not probably… I wonder if it's certain though…" Komui continued and Kanda, the night-blue-haired man, was reaching his limits. But then suddenly, the pile of books under and around Komui collapsed and Komui followed.

"Che, what the hell are you talking about, Komui? You are not making any sense," Kanda said with his hand around the hilt of the katana that was against his waist. "If it's probably, then just say it."

Komui looked up with a book still on top of his head, "How should I say this… It seems there's a rewinding town, see?"

"Rewinding?" Kanda said in an 'are you serious' tone and narrowed his eyes.

Lenalee gave Kanda a questioning look. Komui began crawling out from under the pile of books and stood up to face the both of them. "Yes. Probably time-space has stopped on one particular day. So that day keeps repeating." Then he turned to face the doorway and called out, "Reever-hancho (section leader)?"

"Yo," Reever greeted as he walked towards them, looking as tired as Komui, with a piece of paper in his hands. "It starts with a salesman getting an order from the town's liquor store. On October the 28th, he received an order for ten barrels of rose wine to be delivered the next day. But no matter what, he couldn't enter the town. After that, every day at the same time, he received the same order of ten barrels of rose wine for the next day."

"T-that's scary, isn't it?" Lenalee asked with widened eyes and Kanda had on a thoughtful look.

"It's already November though… so are you saying that it's still October 28th in that town right now?" Kanda inquired.

"We want to investigate, but… the Finders can't get into the town," Komui said with his hand against his chin. Then suddenly, he was smiling and his finger pointed up like he had an idea, "With that said, from this point, the rest is just our theory."

Kanda narrowed his eyes and looked like he was about to pull out his Mugen, but was stopped when Reever began talking again.

"First, if Innocence is the cause of this phenomenon, the Exorcists that have Innocence might be able to enter," Reever said as he looked up at the two exorcists.

"Secondly, however… if it really is October 28th in the town, if you enter, we don't know if you can leave," Komui continues with a serious and grim expression.

Lenalee looks down and asked, "So we'd be trapped within that space?"

Komui replies with a nod.

"So Kanda, let's head out then," Lenalee said with a smile.

"Che, fine," Kanda said and began walking out of the room.

"Hold on, I am not done yet!" Komui called out before they could go any further.

"Yes, nii-san?" Lenalee asked as she turned around.

"Both of you also need to be on the lookout for the white-haired teen named Allen," Komui said as he pulled out a picture from his pocket. There was a white-haired boy dressed in black in the picture, it was taken from a golem during the Ghost of Martel mission.

"What white-haired teen, nii-san?" Lenalee questioned.

"Four years ago, there was a town in southern France named Tonnerre that was completely burned to the ground and everyone that was in there died. After some investigation, we came to the conclusion that they were all murdered," Komui explained as he went down memory lane. And upon hearing the people being murdered, Lenalee let out a gasp of shock. "However, there were two people who wasn't harmed by the fire at all, but they were both brutally tortured and crucified and died from those wounds. On the crucifix of both men, there was something written on it, "Those that have sinned shall pay." and "These people will be damned even after death." We also had a finder who was from Tonnerre and he told us a story involving this same white-haired kid. This kid was horribly treated and we figured out that this was the sin the culprits meant. We also learned that this kid has Innocence, so we started trying to find him. But even after 4 years of searching, we couldn't get to him. We have seen him appear every now and then, but we never figured out anything else about him except for his name, Allen."

"So?" Kanda asked as he began remembering his last mission, it was a bitter one. On the other hand, Lenalee had tears that were starting to well up in her eyes and she felt bad for that boy.

"But then suddenly, he showed up once again in the Ghost of Martel mission. You should remember him, Kanda," Komui said and Kanda reluctantly nodded while Lenalee's eyes widened. "During the mission, Allen and this other dark-skinned man showed up and interfered with our mission. Long story short, he stole the Innocence right under our nose and the other man also took the doll, who was the Ghost of Martel. Then they disappeared and we couldn't find them. We also lost one of the exorcists because of them. It is classified information that the exorcist was actually killed by those two."

"What?" Lenalee cried out as tears began flowing down her face.

"So our mission is to also find the kid and bring him back, right?" Kanda asked after sparing a glance at Lenalee, she was way too sensitive.

"Yes. But please bring him back alive," Komui requested and looked up at Kanda before returning his gaze on his sister.

"Che. Fine. I am leaving. Lenalee, let's go," Kanda said as he walked out of the door.

* * *

**The next day…**

"Ah, so this is the rewinding town, huh?" Road asked like she was amazed. She was standing in front of the entrance to the so-called rewinding town with Lero opened as an umbrella to protect Allen and her from the heavy rain. She was wearing a white dress shirt with a red ribbon tied in a butterfly knot and a dark purple skirt with thigh-high purple and pink socks along with a pair of black doll shoes.

"So it seems, Shall we?" Allen asked as he looked at the entrance as well, there seemed to be no one beyond the town's entrance, but he knew it was different. At the corner of his eyes, he also noticed a finder standing under a nearby tree watching them in surprise.

"Let's go," Road said as she began walking forward with Allen following before they stopped a foot or so from the entrance. She then brought the umbrella in front of her as it began closing by itself.

"Lero, what are you doing?" Lero cried out franticly, making Allen chuckle.

"Did you steal Lero from Millennie again?" Allen said with amusement as Road began to poke Lero against the barrier that was separating the town from the rest of the world and the barrier began emitting electricity.

"He won't mind~" Road said as he poked Lero even further in and she began walking forward.

Allen let out a chuckle and then looked over at the finder. "Hi, Toma! So we meet again," Allen called out to a finder with a wave.

The finder was too shocked to reply.

"Bye, see you then~!" Allen called out and winked before following Road who is now starting to past through the barrier, causing even more electricity to be emitted.

When Allen walked through the barrier however, he went through smoothly and without any problems.

The finder gasps in surprise and thought, '_Just now… wasn't that Allen, the white-haired kid we were looking for? What is he doing here? Who is that girl with him? Is she an Innocence accommodator as well? No, the barrier's reaction towards her was different, but then who is she? And how does Allen know my name? Does that mean he remembers me from that last mission? Will Kanda-dono and Lenalee-dono be okay?_'

When Allen got through the barrier, he was greeted with the sight of a burnt Road, but her body quickly regenerated and her clothes were as good as new.

"Huh, so I guess this Innocence barrier doesn't take Noahs very well," Allen said teasingly as he walked up besides Road.

"Allen!" Road said with a pout before a smile was on her face, "Road Kamelot has arrived~!"

"So what should we do now?" Allen asked as he looked around.

"I already sent out some Akuma ahead of time, but I can sense one missing, so I guess he is killed already," Road said as she walked forward with Allen following.

"Huh, wonder if they have found them yet. Let's just go sit somewhere and wait, it's too much work to look for them ourselves."

"Alright then, wanna get on a roof so we can have a better look of the place?" Road suggested as she looked around for a suitable place.

"Sure sure," Allen said, "Any preferences?"

"As long as it's clean and high up… did you find somewhere already?" Road said with a smile as she turned to face Allen.

"Yup, want me to help you?"

"Sure!" Road said with a cheerful smile and Allen wrapped his left arm around her before picking her up bridal smile. Then he jumped up to a nearby roof easily.

* * *

**Somewhere else in town…**

"Che, what the hell?" Kanda said as his head started pounding and in front of him were three level two Akumas. '_Damn, how the hell am I going to kill them all._' Even Kanda knew that he wasn't strong enough to kill them all yet, especially when they are ganging up on him and continually using their special abilities on him. They arrived earlier this morning and they had separated to try finding anything abnormal. He had found this woman being attacked by an Akuma and while he was fighting the Akuma, the woman ran out of the alley like she was insane and then he started telling Lenalee about her just as he saw her coming into the restaurant they were in. Soon after she arrived, three men sitting by the bar turned into Akumas and Lenalee had brought this Miranda woman somewhere safe, leaving Kanda to fight against these damn Akumas.

All of a sudden, the pounding ceased and Kanda looked up, just in time to see an army of purple crescent moon-shaped beams aimed at him. Immediately, he jumped back and barely dodged them all. Then right as he landed and looked up, another Akuma was charging at him at full speed with his crab-like claws aimed at him and he reflected it just in time with his Mugen.

The Akuma started swiping at him while Kanda was trying to slice through him with his Mugen. Kanda landed a kick on the Akuma and immediately jumped back, but when he landed, he found another Akuma waiting beside him. This Akuma was blue and bulky with pink hair and started releasing a breath of glowing blue fire towards him. Kanda dashed to the side, the fire slipping past him with the exception of a stray branch that got his arm. He clutched the arm as the burn began heating up, but he could feel his modified body beginning to regenerate and soon the skin where the wound used to be was as good as new.

"Hotter than fire, Ice Fire!" the Akuma called out and released another breath of fire, directly aimed at him. Kanda instantly jumps back to the side and where he used to be was a wall of ice that spurted out from the ground.

"If it touches you even slightly, it'll burn your flesh off," the Akuma said proudly as Kanda just stood there watching the Akuma.

"So?" Kanda growled out as his eyes narrowed.

"Tear him up! Tear him up!" The Akuma that Kanda had kicked added in.

"No no, I will break his brain with my voice," the third akuma that caused the pounding in Kanda's head called out, he had four navy green skull heads, a regular akuma head underneath and a striped pumpkin-like body. The three of them were looking at him with the eyes of a predator.

"Che. Is that all you have got?" Kanda growled out as his clutch around the hilt of Mugen tightened.

"Just tear him up!"

"Burn him!"

"His brain, I said!"

Suddenly all three of the Akumas scrunched their face and turned towards each other, forming a circle and they began playing rock, paper, scissors, they started chanting, "Rock, Paper, Scissors! All the same kind! Once again! Once again!"

Kanda just raises his eyebrow as an idea forms in his head. Without warning, Kanda dashes towards them and sliced one of their arms off, but they were still alive.

"What'd you do that for? It's not fair to attack us while we are playing Janken!" The skull-headed Akuma exclaimed and there were tears welling in his eyes.

"There's no way I would wait for that. Che." Kanda said with a smirk as he jumped back.

All three of the Akumas suddenly rush towards Kanda while saying, "Crush the Exorcist!"

"Tch," Kanda said as he prepares for the attack.

Suddenly, when they were within a yard or so from Kanda, they were brought to a halt by a female voice saying "Wait."

The Akumas freeze up while Kanda was startled and their surrounding changed into the color of the night sky.

"It seems like you guys are having fun. Did you forget about recovering the Innocence?" the female voice said and you could hear the smile in her voice. Suddenly, the voice turned strict and displeased, "Go back!"

"Yes! Right away!" Instantly, the three Akumas launched up into the sky like a rocket leaving a trail of purple glowing light behind them, breaking the roof and causing smoke to fill up the air.

Kanda, who had kneeled down to dodge the falling pieces got back up, and glared at the hole on the roof. "What the hell was that?"

* * *

**Meanwhile… somewhere else…**

Road was standing up at the point of the roof while Allen was seated cross legged and the three Akumas that had retreated were floating behind Road.

"Uh… Road-sama?" one of the Akumas, the Skull headed one, called out uncertainly.

Road turns around and looks at them with a smile, then she lightly scolded, "You guys… You aren't allowed to play around without me." Road then pointed Lero's head onto the bulky Akuma that was behind her.

"Or me," Allen added with a smile.

"Yeah," Road agreed as she kept poking the Akuma with Lero.

"So he is here too eh? I wonder how we should play with him," Allen said with a devious smile as he looked down at the street below him.

"He? Who are you talking about?" Road asked as she stopped poking the Akuma and turned around.

"The blue-haired guy I mentioned, remember? He was the one I saw at Martel… I bet you would love him as a doll, he is so pretty and feminine looking. His hair looked really silky and soft too," Allen explained, turning his head to look at Road, who was now seated beside him.

"Huh… As soft and silky as yours?" Road asked and Allen's head turned back to watch the streets.

"I don't know… maybe," Allen said as he spotted the blue-haired exorcist. '_Wonder what they are going to do now…_'

"Then we should find out…" Road said with a devious smile and her violet eyes were gleaming with mischief.

* * *

**The next day…**

"So what the hell are we going to do now?" Kanda asked Lenalee as they were seated at a table, waiting for Miranda to come back with their tea. The 'previous' day, they had been taken on a tour by Miranda to see what she did on October 28th before returning to Miranda's home. When the grandfather clock approached 12am, Miranda appeared to be in a trance and walked towards her bed. When she was settled in her bed, she was instantly asleep and then suddenly, the clock was in front of Miranda's bed and clocks started appearing all over the room. Shortly afterwards, all of the room's clocks began being sucked into the grandfather clock and soon clocks started coming from every direction. When the grandfather clock finished absorbing all the clocks that was sent towards it like a black hole, the scene outside changed into the morning sky and it was morning once again. Miranda then woke up and after she sat up, she asked, "Hmm? When did I go to sleep?"

"I don't know, Kanda..." Lenalee began with a worried smile. "Maybe we can start with telling her about what happened?"

* * *

**Sometime later...**

Road walked up to the black-haired woman holding a basket and the blue-haired man next to her who was displaying sword play while the children were watching in awe. The teen was so graceful and fluid with his movements and his long ponytail was also dancing along with him.

"Can I please buy a ticket?" Road asked with a lollipop in hand and watched the blue-haired teen's sword play from the corner of her eye.

"O-of course," Miranda said as she took out a ticket and Road dropped a few coins in Miranda's outstretched hand before taking the ticket Miranda had.

"Thank you," She said before skipping back to where Allen was standing, hidden from view.

"You are right, Allen. He would make a great doll!" Road said when she reached him and placed the ticket in his hand.

"Of course I am right, so is that Akuma ready?" Allen asked as he stuffed the ticket in one of his pockets.

"Yeah. Once they are done and that guy leaves her side, he will start," Road replied as she took another lick of her lollipop.

"Alright, then. Let's just watch them from here for now. So what are we going to do with them once they are in our hands?" Allen asked as he continued watching the blue-haired teen's sword play.

"Whatever we want, as long as they leave alive. Millennie just wants to make our presence known and send out some greetings," Road said with a mischievous smile.

"Alright, that's good. Hm... I think I just heard that woman thank him and called him Kanda... So I guess his name is Kanda then?" Allen asked with a thoughtful smile.

* * *

**Back with the exorcists...**

"Kanda! Thank you so much!" Miranda cried out after the kids left and all the tickets she had were sold out.

"Che, whatever," Kanda said as he sheathed Mugen.

"You guys are great! I might just make you my regulars," Miranda's boss called out as he emerged from the circus tent that was behind Kanda and Miranda.

Miranda's eyes lit up. "R-really?"

"Yes. Here are some more tickets," Miranda's boss said as he held out a stack of tickets and Miranda took it.

Miranda bowed in thanks, "Thank you so much!"

"Keep up the good work!" The man called out as he retreated back into the tent.

"Miranda! Kanda!" A female voice called out as its source appeared around the tent's corner and walked up to the ever-so-pleasant teen and the weary-looking woman.

"Lenalee!" Miranda greeted.

"So did things go well?" Lenalee asked with a smile when she was in front of Miranda.

"Y-yes! The boss also said he might make us regulars!" Miranda replied with excitement.

"That's great! I am glad, Miranda!"

"Thank you so much, Lenalee. And thank you as well, Kanda," Miranda said as she bowed in thanks.

"Kanda's sword play is amazing, isn't it?" Lenalee said with a glance at Kanda who was looking around them, searching for the Akumas from yesterday. "May I borrow Kanda for a few moments? I need help with something."

"Of course," Miranda replied.

"Kanda, follow me then," Lenalee said as she began walking towards wherever she came from.

"Fine," Kanda said and began following Lenalee.

A few minutes later, Kanda still hasn't returned and Miranda was standing there trying to attract more customers to buy the tickets. Suddenly, a man ran past her and yanked away the bag of money attached to her waist and the tickets from her hands.

Miranda screamed and shouted out, "Help! Help!"

Kanda, who was walking back to Miranda, began to run towards Miranda and the sound of running footsteps could also be heard from behind. Using her Dark Boots, Lenalee got to the now-crying woman faster.

"What's wrong, Miranda?" Lenalee asked with a worried expression.

"T-that man! H-he... He s-stole th-the mo-ney a-and the…the sho-show's tic-tickets!" Miranda cried out as she pointed at the man that was running away from the scene. Upon hearing this, Kanda immediately began chasing after the thief.

"It will be okay, Miranda. Kanda and I will get it back for you," Lenalee reassured as she got up.

"R-Really?"

"Yes, meanwhile, stay here. Okay?" Lenalee replied before dashing off after the thief with her Dark Boots activated.

"You dumb idiot!" A voice suddenly rung out behind Miranda. Miranda slowly turned around and found the ringmaster practically fuming with anger. "You good for nothing!"

"I-I am so so-sorry!" Miranda cried out as even more tears began flowing down her cheeks.

"Useless! You damn useless idiot! You better get me back my tickets and money!" The ring master roared out before going back into the tent while the rest of the bystanders just went back to what they were doing.

Miranda crumbled down onto the floor and her hands flew to her face. "No, no more… In the end, I'm no good at anything. Even though I tried my best." Miranda clenched her hands. "I am such a fool! Why does it always turn out like this? Why does my clock have Innocence? Why me?"

Road, who was watching from a distance, now began walking up to Miranda with Allen by her side. When she reached the crumbled woman, she lowered down with her lollipop in hand. She licked the lollipop one more time before saying, "Ah… you clock has Innocence, eh?"

The setting around the three of them began changing into shades of pink.

Meanwhile, Kanda and Lenalee have finally cornered the thief into an alley's dead end. Suddenly, the thief's skin rip apart and a blue bulky Akuma appears.

"Dammit! It's a fucking trap!" Kanda growled out when he realized what just happened.

"_That_ woman… she's already been taken," the Akuma said with a maniacal smile and his eyes widens into snake-like eyes, "…by Road-sama."

""Road"?" Kanda asks with confusion. '_Who the hell is "Road"?_' He thought to himself.

The blue-bulky Akuma lets out a laugh and shouts out, "Ice Fire!"

Immediately, the entire alleyway freezes over and it was like they were in an ice cave.

Lenalee cries out in shock, "It froze over!"

'_Yeah, way to state the obvious! No duh,_' Kanda thought as he rolled his eyes and then he remembered about that pessimistic woman that was now left alone, '_Crap._'

"Kanda!" Lenalee suddenly cries out when two portals appeared on the ground and the area above the two portals are enveloped in light. Then slowly, the two other Akumas that Kanda was fighting with the previous day appeared from the portal.

'_Shit, right now I have to concentrate, otherwise I can't fucking attack those damn Akumas. That woman will be fine_,' Kanda thought as his attention began focusing on the three Akumas and pulled out his Mugen. He slid his index and middle finger over the entire length of the Mugen until it reached the tip, leaving a trail of glowing blue light, "Innocence… activate!" Blue beams of light began being projected from Mugen.

"Pang Voice!" the skull-headed Akuma shouts as glowing purple sound waves began being projected. The ground underneath Kanda exploded just as Kanda jumped up and barely avoided the attack.

"Wind ambush attack!" Another Akuma shouted out and purple boomerang-shaped beams materialized, aiming towards Kanda.

'_How the hell is it an ambush when you are shouting out that you are attacking?_' Kanda thought to himself as he placed the Mugen in front of him and shouted with his eyes closed, "Mugen! Saikayu Shourai!" Then his eyes snapped open and weird-looking insects materialized. "Kai! Chuu! Ichigen!" The insects began darting towards the incoming beams and successfully neutralize the beams. (A/N: Mugen- Six Illusions; Saikayu Shourai- Summons of Misfortune; Kai Chuu- Hell Insects; and Ichigen- First Illusion. These are what those words mean in English.)

Kanda landed the foot that was in the air back on the ground, but because of how slippery and icy the frozen ground was, he slipped and began falling backwards.

"Freeze!" the blue-bulky Akuma shouted out.

Kanda easily steadied himself but once he placed the foot that caused the slip back onto the ground, the ice on the ground spurted up and trapped Kanda's legs. '_Shit!_'

"Ice Fire!" Blue glowing fire immediately began emitting from the Akuma's mouth and Kanda tried defending the Akuma's attacks, but it was to no avail.

"Fuck! Ahh!" Kanda shouts out as the Ice Fire blazes through him and he begins falling back onto the ground, slowly losing consciousness.

Upon hearing her teammate's cry, Lenalee snapped her head back and cried out, "Kanda!"

Expecting Lenalee's diverted attention, the three Akumas appeared behind Lenalee and began laughing at how easy this was. Hearing the laughs, Lenalee turned her head back in shock and was frozen to the spot.

* * *

**Some time later…**

"Ugh…" Kanda slowly began to stir back into consciousness and opened his eyes, "Where the fuck am I?" Kanda began looking around and widened his eyes at the first sight the he saw. Miranda was hugging the clock and her hands were tied into the rope that was wrapped around the grandfather clock. Kanda then inhales a sharp intake of breath and he looks up at where the source of pain in his body came from, his hands were nailed to what he presume was a wall right above him and he could feel his body trying to regenerate, but because of the nails, it couldn't do anything.

"You woke up?" A female voice greeted as its source turned around to face him with a smile and blows a bubblegum bubble.

Kanda widens his eyes in shock, but then narrows them in suspicion. In front of him was a blue spiky haired girl wearing an exorcist's coat with her hands up in greeting. '_It's probably mine…_' Then he saw Lenalee sitting in a throne-like chair and dressed in a dark red dress, her eyes were opened but they were unfocused.

"Lenalee! Dammit!" Kanda calls out and Road wraps her hands around Lenalee's neck affectionately with a smile.

Then the blue-bulky Akuma from before appears from behind the chair and warns, "Be careful! She's Road-sama's doll now!"

'_So she is the Road-sama he was talking about? Is she… is she an Akuma?_' Kanda wonders as someone starts petting his hair. "What the fuck?" Kanda shouts out and turns to his side, but what greeted him rendered him speechless and in shock, he didn't even sense or hear anyone coming up to him. It was the white-haired boy from Martel, Italy, the one whom Komui had them on the lookout for, Allen. He was wearing a white dress shirt with a black ribbon tied around his neck and had on a pair of dress trousers.

"Road~ His hair really is soft. I wonder how he keeps it like that?" Allen remarks with a gentle smile as he continued stroking Kanda's hair.

"Really? As soft as yours?" Road asked.

"I don't know, maybe… you will have to see for yourself."

"I-it's you! What the hell are you doing here?" Kanda exclaimed when he finally snapped out of his shock. The boy was so close to him and yet he couldn't do anything but watch. "And get the fuck away from me."

"Man, he is so foul mouthed… hi, Kanda!" Allen remarked casually.

"How the hell do you know my name?" Kanda asked with narrowed eyes.

"I have been watching you. Road, isn't he so pretty?" Allen asked as he turned to look at Road and finally took away his hand.

"Yes, he is. I would love him as a doll~ but… too bad we can't keep him… yet." Road said that with a smile but Kanda could hear a promise in those words. Allen had gotten up and begun walking towards the direction of the girl

"Allen," Kanda called out and said boy froze in his tracks.

"How do _you_ know my name?" Allen asked as he turned around slowly with an emotionless face.

"The Order found out from a finder that was from Tonnerre or something." Kanda didn't know why he was even telling this boy. In a usual situation, he would have been like "why the hell would I tell you?", but this wasn't a usual situation, he felt compelled to talk to the boy.

"Ah… I see. Tonnerre huh… so did they get my message then?" Allen said with a faraway look in his eyes and a sad smile was adorning his lips.

"H-huh? Your message?" Kanda then realized what the boy was talking about. "No... it was you who murdered them all, wasn't it?"

"Yup!" Allen said cheerfully with a joyful smile.

"Why? No, I already know. It was revenge for what they did, wasn't it." Kanda remarked dryly.

"Uh-huh! It was so much fun too, wasn't it Road? And those screams and the sight was so beautiful!" Allen said with a devilish smile.

"It was really fun~" Road said as she hopped up beside Allen and wrapped her arms around the boy.

"So you took part in it as well?" Kanda asked. '_Who else was involved? How the hell can the boy and this girl still be smiling and act like it was nothing?_' Kanda didn't really give a damn about what happened to those people from Tonnerre, but this was an Innocence accommodator they were talking about, an Innocence accommodator shouldn't be acting like this.

"Yup! The rest of my family had a lot of fun as well~! It was Allen's birthday present!" Road said with a big smile as she remembered the fun that she had that day.

"Your family?" Kanda asked, dumbfounded. She was an Akuma, wasn't she? How could she have a family?

"Yup~"

"Aren't you an Akuma?" Kanda asked carefully and Road's expression instantly turned not as cheerful.

"Me? An Akuma? As if! I am a human," Road said with a snort. Noahs don't like being called an Akuma by others, it was like insulting them, but the reaction that they have towards being called one differs.

"A human?" Kanda asked with widened eyes. "Why the hell is a human being called Road-sama by those damn Akumas?"

"What? Humans and Akumas can't be friends?"

"Akuma exists to kill humans! They are damn weapons made by that fucking Millennium Earl!" Kanda spitted out with disgust.

"Weapons are used by humans to kill humans, right? The Great Millennium Earl and I are siblings," Road said with a wide smile and she began turning into her Noah form with the seven stigmatas. "We are the chosen humans, the _true_ apostles chosen by God. We are… the Clan of Noah!" Road said with a bigger smile.

Kanda's eyes widen and said in disbelieve, "The Clan of Noah. A fucking human?" Kanda and Road continue to stare at each other, both not wanting to be the first to look away.

Suddenly, a pink umbrella with a pumpkin top appears besides Road and cried out frantically, "Shh! Road-sama! Shhh! Talking about us to strangers is bad ~relo!"

A pout forms on Road's face as she tilted her head to the side and she had on a disappointed face. "Ehh? Why?"

"You can't ~relo! Besides, Earl-tama doesn't currently have a plan for these guys or for Road-tama, right? Taking possession of me without asking and doing whatever you want with me… You are going to get punished by the Earl ~relo!"

But Road didn't look like she cared at all. "Millennie wouldn't do such a thing to me." Road said as she placed her head against Allen's shoulders. "It's just a little drama to make the story more interesting. This much won't change Millennie's plan at all and plus, it was Millennie who ordered us to start greeting them. Aren't I right, Allen?"

"Yup~ Lero, you fret too much," Allen said without looking at the still frantic umbrella and looks at Kanda instead. Kanda had begun struggling to pull out his nailed arms and even though it was painful, he knew it would regenerate soon.

Then finally, Kanda succeeds, pulling out part of the wall with him, and as expected, his body soon began regenerating his bleeding wrists and he notices his Mugen right beside him. '_Bad judgment on their part._' Kanda inwardly smirks.

"Impressive," Allen whistles and he claps his hands a little. "And look at him, his wound is regenerating already!"

"Regeneration? Wow, we found a piece of treasure!" Road said as she examines Kanda's wound from where she stood.

"We sure did and I bet he is planning on using that katana of his now!" Allen said knowingly, he had left that Innocence of Kanda's there on purpose to spice things up.

"Why… why the hell is a human and an Innocence accommodator on the fucking fatso's side?" Kanda asks as he began glaring at Allen and Road, who was still clinging onto Allen.

"Road," Allen whispered and knowing the unsaid request in his word, Road let go and took a step back with a pout. Allen then began walking towards Kanda who was sitting still, waiting for his arms to fully regenerate before attempting anything. "Why are you glaring at us?"

Allen had finally reached where Kanda sat and kneeled down in front of him, "You can't believe I am on their side willingly? Why not?" Allen then wrapped his arms around Kanda's neck, shocking Kanda, Lero and Road. Road narrowed her eyes at Kanda, who grew stiff from the boy's touch.

'_This… this feels nice… wait, what the hell did I just think? This feels nice? What the fuck is wrong with me? It must be the pain, ugh, would my fucking wrists finish regenerating already?_' Kanda thought to himself, but he was still too shocked to move.

"It feels nice, doesn't it?" Allen said with a soft smile, leaving Kanda with widened eyes and wondering how the hell this boy was reading his mind. "I am Allen Walker, by the way. And yes, I am an Innocence accommodator."

"Th-then why the hell are you on that fucking fatso's side? And get the fuck away from me," Kanda spitted out, masking what he was really feeling inside and clutched onto the hilt of Mugen. He was confused on the inside, he couldn't understand why he felt comfortable in the arms of this fucking Moyashi when it was clear that they were on opposite sides at this moment.

"I am on Millennie's side because I agree with their views on the world and because they are my family," Allen softly whispered, his voice was like an enchanting spell to Kanda and it sounded like music.

"Your family? Don't kid me!" Kanda spits out, struggling to not just give in to the boy's warmth.

"What? Noahs can't be family?"

"You are a fucking Innocence Accommodator! Why the hell would your family be the ones you are supposed to be fighting?" Kanda exclaims with disbelieve.

"They have treated me way better than any of the humans have treated me, so why the hell would I want to fight them? And who bloody cares if I am an Innocence Accommodator?" Allen said as he pulled back and narrowed his eyes. The look in his eyes was bone-chilling and hard as rock, Kanda had to suppress a shiver from looking into them.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Kanda asked in an uncaring tone, still a little annoyed at the lost of the embrace.

"Exactly what I said, I hate to repeat myself, especially to you inferior humans," Allen said as he stood up and began walking backwards. Road walked forwards and wrapped her hands around Allen's waist.

"You shouldn't get so close to these exorcists…" Road whispered into Allen's ears. She was glad that they were about the same height, but she also missed the Allen who was smaller than she is.

"Gomen. Did you get a chance to feel his hair?" Allen asked as his expression softens and an apologetic smile adorns his lips.

"Nope. But I doubt his hair is softer than yours. Can I please punish him for getting too close to you? He was enjoying it way too much," Road said as her eyes narrowed when she watched Kanda, who was glaring at the two of them.

"As long as he leaves alive…" Allen said playfully.

"Anything you say~" Road said as an army of sharp-pointed candles that were lighted appeared behind her, the candles began tilting so that the sharp end was aimed at Kanda, who was now watching with an unreadable expression. The candles then began speeding past Road and accurately landed on the wall, outlining Kanda's body.

Kanda then let out a blood-curdling scream ― one of the candles had landed right in the middle of his chest ― and Miranda who was watching the entire exchange let out a cry of her own and more tears trickled down her face before she looked away, unable to continue watching. The candle that had stabbed Kanda's chest then rolled to the feet of Allen. Road bent down to pick up the candle off the floor and placed the candle in front of Allen's mouth.

"Want some?" Road asked as her left hand slid back into its position around Allen's waist.

"Thanks," Allen said with a smile as his tongue appeared and began licking off the blood.

"Leave some for me though, okay?" Road asked as she watched Kanda, who was glaring at them, in her peripheral vision.

Kanda couldn't believe what he was seeing and he was sort of disgusted by it, but an Innocence accommodator is licking his blood like it was nothing! He even seemed to be enjoying it! This was unheard of in all of the Order's history, well as far as he knows. Actually, no, General Zokalo was just like that, but still!

"That was good. Here, I left some for you Road," Allen commented and licked his lower lips to savor the taste. He then began laughing at the priceless expression on Kanda's face while Road began to licking the blood off of the candle as well.

"You are right, it is good," Road said as she licked off the last bits of the blood. "No more," Road said with a pout as she tossed the candle away and it landed on the floor with a _cling_.

Kanda was angry and part of that anger was directed at his own helplessness. They knew it wouldn't kill him since his body was modified to regenerate quickly and they were clearly enjoying this.

"I don't think anything of killing inferior humans. I hate this world corrupted by lowlifes. You and everyone like you should die," Kanda was in disbelieve and his anger was even more fueled as Road went on and settled her head on Allen's shoulder, "God desires death for this world. That's why he provided Millennie and us with Akumas."

"That isn't the fucking god. Even if I don't believe in God, I know it isn't anything like the fucking god!" Kanda said as he carefully stood up and clutched onto Mugen even more tightly. He then quickly slid his index and middle finger over the whole length of his katana, when he reached the tip, he shouted, "Innocence, activate!"

"Either way is fine, right?" Road said with a hint of amusement. Kanda then positioned himself with his sword aimed at Allen who was staying silent and watching Kanda with unreadable eyes.

"Are you going to kill me?" Allen asked, not a bit worried.

"I must bring you back," Kanda said as he prepared himself.

"You can't kill me." Allen simply said. Suddenly the three akumas appeared and Kanda widened his eyes.

'_Shit'_ Kanda thought and Allen just had on a smile.

"Ice Fire!" the blue-bulky Akuma shouted as a wave of glowing blue fire was shot out of his mouth. Kanda jumped back, efficiently dodging the attack.

"Wind Ambush!" the Akuma with the crab claws as hands cried out and purple boomerang-shaped beams were directed towards him. Kanda began slicing the beams in half with his Mugen, but there were too much and he was still injured, so most of them still got to him.

"Pang Voice!" the skull-headed Akuma announced as purple ring shaped soundwaves were aimed at him, causing him to fall back and a muffled scream escaped his lips. Kanda laid sideways on the floor, as still as a doll and even more battered than before.

"Kanda!" Miranda cried out with worry.

"Fighting three Akumas like that is impossible," Allen whispered into Kanda's ears, appearing out of nowhere and causing Road to be hugging thin air and unbalance with the lack of support.

"Allen!" Road called out with a pout as she rebalanced herself and popped up beside Lenalee's chair with the three Akumas behind her.

"You should give it up, Kan-da." Allen whispered with extra pronunciation on the syllables of his name. "What if the God that you guys believe in is the wrong one?" Kanda stilled with shock. '_What was this fucking Moyashi saying? The god that they believed in is the wrong one? What the hell is he talking about?_'

Kanda was about to question the Moyashi about what he had said, but then a spasm of pain shot through his body and he clenched his teeth to not scream out.

Road then spared a glance at Miranda, who was shaking with fear, "Isn't it about time you are gone as well?"

"N-no! H-help me!" Miranda cried out helplessly.

With a gesture of her hand, the candles that appeared behind Road shot forward with Miranda as their target. Miranda screamed out in panic as she awaited the incoming candles and couldn't help but look away when the candles were almost there.

A second later, Miranda still couldn't feel the awaited pain but she could feel the army of candles brushing past her.

"~Relo!" Lero called out in shock and surprise, the same expression could be seen on Road's face.

Miranda looked up and all she could see was white, but then the white retreated and a figure with a white fur-line cape could be seen a foot or so from her. "E-eh?" Miranda managed to stutter out. The figure turned around and the white began disappearing, recognition flickered in Miranda's eyes and she was shocked, "Y-you?"

Allen gave the still-shaking woman a reassuring smile before turning around to face Road with a disapproving look.

"Road! What were you doing to this poor woman?" Allen said with a scowl as he began walking towards Road.

"Eh~ Kill her?" Road said, not understanding Allen's actions.

"Geez! We weren't really suppose to kill anyone yet!" Allen lightly scolded but there was a smile playing on his lips.

"We weren't? I thought we were suppose to greet them! And wouldn't killing one of them be the most effective way to 'greet' them?" Road said as a smile began appearing on her face as well.

"True true, but then we would have no fun!" Allen said as he reached where Road was standing.

"Eh, I guess that's true~ But you could have gotten hurt! And I would have really gotten punished!" Road said with a pout, slightly shivering at the memory of the Earl's promise if Allen didn't return home completely unharmed.

"Sorry," Allen said with an apologetic smile, but spun back to face Miranda when he heard the slicing of something. Kanda was there with his Mugen and the ropes that were around the clock was falling off, freeing Miranda from her imprisonment.

"Don't move," Kanda ordered as he turned to face Allen, who was looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"Nothing, just didn't thought you were the type. You are healed already?" Allen asked as he looked Kanda over.

"I just didn't want this idiot to be in my way and be screaming like a fool." Kanda said with a snort.

Allen just shrugged and without warning, an army of candles whizzed pass Allen and pierced into Kanda, who didn't have enough time to dodge the attack, blood began gushing out and dripping onto the floor as Kanda himself landed on the floor with a _thud_. It wasn't enough to kill him, not that he could have been killed so easily, but it was enough to make him start slipping into unconsciousness.

"Road?" Allen asked with a raised eyebrow as blood continued to pool under Kanda and the candles fell out.

"What? He won't die," Road said innocently and a smile appeared on her face when she saw all the blood.

Allen let out an exasperated sigh. "Still, wha―"

"K-kanda?" Miranda cried out as she crawled to kneel beside Kanda, "N-no! D-don't… don't die! Kanda… don't die!"

Kanda's eyes slowly opened halfway and narrowed his eyes when a wetness was dripping down, "I am―" He broke off when another spasm of pain went through his body and he let out a gasp of pain before blacking out.

"Kanda!" Miranda as she clutched Kanda's shoulder and tried to wake him up by shaking his shoulders, which only made the bleeding worse.

"What are you doing?" Road asked with a frown.

"What the…?" the skull-headed Akuma added.

"What's with this woman?" The blue-bulky Akuma asked, not getting what is going on.

"What are you doing?" the third Akuma inquired.

Miranda just began shaking with worry and even more tears began to stream down her face like a river, but then suddenly, an out-of-place smile appeared her face. "What am I really doing? Me?"

"Why do you struggle on alone? Or rather, what can an inferior human do?" Road asked with a smirk and her hands were at her hips.

"N-nothing… But… but… I…"

"Are you an idiot?" Road asked as her arms rested by her side, but then she raised her right arm up and an army of candles gathered, waiting for her command.

'_Yes, an idiot… Maybe.'_ Miranda thought as she closed her eyes and held Kanda up so that he was in her arms. Then suddenly the grandfather clock's hands began spinning quickly until it reached 9:15 and the clock's chime rung out. Soon, a ring of light appeared around Miranda and Kanda. '_I don't have any recollection of anyone ever saying "thank you" to me. I was always left behind by everyone… but… but these people… they stayed with me… But whatever I did, it didn't go well. I was never of use to anyone. Every time, all that I had left was regret. Even though giving up is bad. The real reason I'm no good is… I can't do anything well, but I try anyways. Even if I decide not to try, I regret it and do it anyway. Since I can't do anything, it's better if I don't try at all. But no matter what… this time… I must try! They are in this situation all because of me… I want to be of help!"_

Yellow light began shooting up from the ring of light while Allen and Road just watched in silence. The clock part of the grandfather clock began glowing in white. '_Oh? What could this be? What is this presence I feel? My clock. Inno…cence?_' Miranda thought to herself as she stared at the clock. Out of nowhere, a clock flew out of the glowing white and the clock's hands moved upward, reaching 12 o'clock. Like fire, the ring of light on the ground began emitting flames of light and it started spinning in circles, until a dome with clocks that had spinning hands on the outside spurt up and covered everything inside from the outside world.

"What is going on?" Allen asked, eyes filled with amazement as he watched the damaged places and things in Road's dream world began recovering to its original state like magic. "Huh? What is happening?"

The Akumas began hovering beside the dome and one of the Akumas asked, "What the hell is this?"

"Road-sama? It's alright if I try to touch this, isn't it?" the blue-bulky Akuma asked as it turned around to face Road. All of a sudden a blur of black and blue shot past the Akuma, effectively slicing the Akuma's arm off.

"Road-tama! Allen-tama!" Lero cried out in a panic as the blur was heading towards the two of them and Allen took Road in his arms before jumping up with a back spin, avoiding collision with the blur. The blur took hold of the chair Lenalee was in along with Lenalee and instantly headed back towards the dome once again. Road let out a gasp of shock and when Allen landed, he was standing on Lero, who was now floating sideways.

Road didn't look too impressed with the turn of events, but Allen had on a look of amusement as he let down Road and jumped off Lero. "Kanda, huh."

"Kanda?" Road asked.

"His wounds have healed…"

"Really?" Road bounced up and landed sitting so that she could be sitting on Lero instead.

"Yeah, how else could he have become a blur and still have enough strength to get that girl and the chair."

"True… is it that woman's Innocence?" Road asked as she pulled out a lollipop.

"Probably, I am going in to investigate, okay?" Allen said as he began to walk forward with a smile.

"Eh! How?" Road asked as she stopped mid-stroke with her licking.

"Innocence probably won't reject Innocence. It will think of me as an ally since it's still in its early stage," Allen explained with a mischievous smile.

"Oh… but please be careful, okay? I don't want you hurt~!" Road said with a smile similar to Allen's, but there was a hint of worry in her eyes.

"Okay, I will come back out soon," Allen said he began to approach the dome.

"Allen-sama?" One of the Akumas questioned. They knew he was an Innocence accommodator, but the Master Noahs would be not pleased if they weren't showing respect to Allen-sama and they knew Allen-sama was on their side, it was common knowledge between the Akumas.

"I am going in, so guard the outside, okay?" Allen informed them as he stood in front of the dome.

"Understood!" The Akumas said with a salute.

"See you~" Allen said as he began stepping through the dome, and as expected, he went through easily.

"―saved by your Innocence," Kanda was saying when Allen was inside. Kanda was kneeling by the chair that girl was in, Lenalee was it? Lenalee was now awake and looking at Miranda with a smile.

"You guys sure were," Allen remarked with a smile, shocking everyone else in the dome with his presence.

"Wh-who are you?" Lenalee asked, as she stared at him before recognition sparked in her eyes, "It-it's you, Allen!"

"Eh? So you know my name as well?" Allen walked forward a few steps so that he was just outside of their attack range. "Am I really that well-known in your Order already?"

"Che, what the hell are you doing here, baka Moyashi?" Kanda growled out, but couldn't manage enough hate towards him. After all, he did save him the trouble of saving this idiot of a woman, even if it was for his own purposes.

"Moyashi?" Allen raised his eyebrow. He knew enough Japanese from the Earl and the rest of the family to know what that meant. "I am not a beansprout, BaKanda," Allen retorted, surprising Kanda with his response.

'_He understands Japanese?_' Kanda wondered, slightly impressed with the Moyashi's retort. "What did you call me? And you are a fucking Moyashi!"

Allen just rolled his eyes, annoyed at being insulted about his height, but used to it because of how many times Tyki and his friends had teased him about it. "Whatever. So that girl there is Lenalee, right?"

"H-how do you know my name?" Lenalee asked with widened eyes, "And what are you doing here?"

Allen just shrugged, "I heard BaKanda calling you that. Back to what I was saying, you guys sure were saved by her Innocence. Impressive Innocence, by the way. Very useful."

"E-eh? M-me? Mine?" Miranda asked with astonishment.

"The Innocence you activated… rolled back the time when you guys were injured by the attacks." Allen said as he looked at the clock's hands, which was spinning backwards.

"My… Innocence." Miranda said as she dropped onto her knees and she looked at the clock as well.

"You guys really should thank her," Allen said with a sweet smile. "And I should thank _you_ for showing me such an Innocence. Thank you, Miranda."

"_"Thank you"_?" Miranda said in disbelief.

"Thank you, Miranda," Lenalee said with a gentle smile while Kanda just looked away with a scowl and let out a "Che."

"Me? To me?" Tears of happiness began flowing out of Miranda's eyes.

"I am going to get going now, see you outside!" Allen said with a wave as he began retreating back to the outside.

"W-wait!" Lenalee called out and stood up.

"Bye!" Allen said with a smile before disappearing completely.

"Allen~ You are back!" Road cried out with happiness as Allen jumped to where Road was.

"Yup, and those exorcists are completely healed by that Miranda's Innocence." Allen said just as a tornado-like wind flew out of the dome, trapping the Akumas in there. "You have another lollipop?" Allen asked like nothing was happening.

"Yup! You want one?" Road asked as she pulled out another lollipop from her pockets.

"Uh-huh, thanks," Allen said as he took the lollipop from Road's hands. "Hm, Lero?"

"Yes, Allen-tama?"

"You still have room for another?" Allen asked as he pulled the lollipop from its wrapper.

"Just enough room for you, ~relo!" Lero took a liking to Allen as well, mainly because he wasn't like Road and treated him with respect and love.

"Thank you, Lero!" Allen said with a big smile as he began licking the lollipop. "Here I come. Jump up, Road."

"Okay!" Road bounced up just as Allen hopped on to Lero, so that he was sitting on Lero like Road was. When Road landed, she was in Allen's lap and Allen wrapped his left hand around Road's waist. Then another tornado wind was headed towards the two of them and they easily dodged to the side.

"That was close. Man, that girl is working hard…" Allen remarked with a devilish smile.

A scream of pain suddenly echoed from the heart of the tornado dome that was trapping the Akumas.

"Eh, guess that guy is out and one of them is killed, am I right?" Allen said as he took another lick of his lollipop.

"Yup, I can't feel him anymore. And it was that Pang-Voice one too. What a shame," Road said in a sing-song voice, not sounding sorry at all.

"Look!" Allen said as he watched Kanda and Lenalee land on the ground in front of the once-standing tornado dome.

"Oh? Exorcists sure are interesting…" Road said as she watched them from faraway.

"Does that mean I am not interesting?" Allen asked with a fake pout, feigning hurt.

"No no, of course not!" Road quickly intertwined her fingers with the hand that was on her waist.

"Good~ Hm… but you are right… exorcists are interesting," Allen said with a smile. "What shou―"

"Allen? What are you doing?" Lenalee cried out with shock when she saw Allen with a dark-skinned girl sitting on his laps and they were floating in mid-air with an umbrella supporting them underneath.

"Watching a show!" Allen replied casually.

"Who is that with you?"

"An ally of that fatso," Kanda replied as he watched Allen and Road while Lenalee gasped in shock.

"W-why is he with her? An-anyways! We need to capture him!" Lenalee cried out in disbelief.

"There's no way in hell I am going to go to the Order with you willingly!" Allen said with a smirk.

"What are you talking about? Why are you with her anyways?" Lenalee said with widened eyes.

"She is my family."

"WHAT? Why are you family with the Earl's ally! That… that is impossible! You should be with us!"

"Why would I want to be with you guys, you bunch of fake apostles!" Allen said as a hard and cold look settled in his eyes.

"F-fake apostles?"

"Lenalee. It's useless to try to talk to him. He was the one who fucking murdered the people of Tonnerre along with that girl and their supposed 'family'."

"H-him? I-it was him?" Lenalee said as tears began flowing down her face. Then looking up at Allen, "WHY WOULD YOU DO SUCH A THING!"

"Because they were worthless trash and why don't you try finding out what _they_ did to me? They tried to crucify me! They started beating me up just because of how I looked and of something I didn't even do! They were the monsters! All of them! All of them!" At first, Allen's tone was harsh and cold as ice. But then when he mentioned the things that those people did to him, his voice began shaking and his body was trembling with fear as he remembered what he went through.

"Allen! Allen! It's okay! I am here now!" Road said soothingly as she turned around to hug the boy, trying to ease his panic. When the boy ceased his trembling, Road turned around and started glaring at Lenalee with venom, it was so filled with pure hatred that even Kanda flinched while Lenalee was filled with horror at what the boy said. His past reminded her of hers, but this was still no excuse.

But Lenalee and Kanda were shocked at what happened next, a maniacal laughter soon began to fill their surroundings and it came from none other than Allen. Allen threw up his head and continued his laughter. When the laughter finally died down, Allen looked into Lenalee's eyes and began saying with a Noah-like smile, "But it doesn't matter now! They are all dead! And I finally got my revenge. Humans are pathetic. They are weak and they are monsters! They should all die! They should be cleansed of their corruption!"

Lenalee began feeling this unexplainable fear of the boy's behavior, but she also began feeling angered by the boy's words. "Not everyone is like that! And no one deserves death! How could you be like this? And don't forget, YOU ARE A HUMAN YOURSELF!"

The boy's smile immediately dropped when he heard Lenalee's last words and it struck something in him.

'_She is right… I am a human myself… I am going to die… I am a monster, I am a monster. I am pathetic, all I can do is wait for a death that I know will come… I am corrupted myself. No matter what I do, my death will come and soon, soon… I am going to have to leave everyone… Tyki… Road… Lulu… Millennie… Jasdevi… Skin… even Lero will live forever. Everyone… everyone but me… I will be the only one that will die… all because I am a human, and I won't have much time left with them… no… no… I don't want to leave them… especially Tyki and Road… those two… I love those two. She is right… I am human… which means… I am a monster that will soon die as well! I am a monster… a monster!_' Tears began streaming out of Allen's eyes and his body starts trembling with realization. He soon became the insecure boy that he was when he had just started living with his new family. He had buried the fact that he was a human himself deep inside of him. But because of her words, memories of his past began to unfold once again in front of his eyes. His hands flew to the side of his head and began clutching it as he remembered all the names he has been called. The lollipop that he held in his hands fluttered to the ground and landed with a _plop_, the entire lollipop shattering into pieces, just like Allen.

"Allen! Oi, Allen! What's wrong?" Road asked as she began shaking said boy's shoulders but it was no help. She couldn't do anything but watch the boy as he began shaking his head frantically and tears flowing down like a downpour. "LERO! Take care of Allen!"

"Y-yes, Road-tama!" Lero said as Road jumped off and Lero retreated back so that Allen wouldn't be in harm's way.

"You little bitch!" Road growled out as she turned to face the two, who were both surprised by Allen's reaction, and glared Lenalee. "How dare you cause Allen to be like that!"

Road began to walk towards Lenalee menacingly while Kanda just stood there, frozen to the ground because of the venomous look in Road's eyes. An army of candles appeared behind Road and they instantly darted forward, piercing through Lenalee.

Lenalee let a blood curdling scream as she was thrown back and slammed against a wall.

"Lenalee!" Kanda began rushing towards her but was blocked off by the two remaining Akumas. "Che, dammit!"

Road then jumped up and landed right beside Lenalee gracefully. "You don't know anything and yet you call Allen a mere human! Did you know, he is God's Chosen Child?" Lenalee's eyes snapped open in surprise.

"And now you want him even more! You humans are inferior to Allen in every single way. Allen is God's true apostle, even truer than us Noahs. But we don't care about that, because Allen is our family, he is our beloved Allen. If you hurt Allen, you might as well have angered and injured all of us! I will make sure that you wish you were dead!" Road growled out as she glared into Lenalee's eyes. Lenalee finally realized her mistake, but it was already too late. Road pounced up and landed squarely on Lenalee's knees, causing Lenalee to cry out in pain.

"Oh, did that hurt? But that pain you felt will **never **match up to the pain and sufferings Allen has been through his _entire_ life! And now he is going through it once again just because of those despicable words you uttered!" A lone drip of tear escaped Road's eyes and rolled down her cheek. She was grieving for Allen, for all the pain that these humans have caused him and put him through, just because of how he looked, just because of something that he couldn't control. Road then prepare herself again as she jumped up and landed on Lenalee's ankles. Another earsplitting scream echoed through the air and Lenalee's eyes were pleading for Road to stop.

Road just sneered at her and the only thing raging through her mind was the fact that she must get revenge for Allen. Her arms wrapped around Lenalee's elbow and twisted it into a painful angle, another shrill of pain. Road was careful not to cause anymore fatal wounds or wounds that will cause anymore bleeding because she didn't want Lenalee to die, it would be way too easy on her and it would mean nothing. She wanted to carve the pain onto Lenalee's heart and soul, to make sure that she will remember this for the rest of her life. Road then summoned a candle into her hands and began running the fire onto Lenalee's other arm. As expected, Lenalee was crying out in pain, but her voice was becoming hoarse from all of this, And Lenalee was too far away from Miranda's dome to be able to regenerate and she knew that her injuries were causing Miranda a lot of strain even if Lenalee wasn't healing. Road had thoroughly burned the entire length of Lenalee's arm, it was a burn that was sure to stay and it was causing Lenalee's once beautiful arm to now look a little like Allen's deformed arm, but Road knew it would never be as bad as Allen's arm.

Road was going to continue, but then a call of her name caught her attention.

"R-road... R-road... I...I am a mon...monster..." Allen's voice was still shaky and filled with remorse, but his words were as clear as it could be to Road. Road instantly appeared beside Allen and held him in her arms.

"No, Allen! No, you are not a monster! You will never be a monster! Stop saying you are a monster! It's okay Allen! We are here for you!" Road said soothing as tears began flowing down her face, she couldn't hold them back anymore, Allen's suffering was too much for her, it was too heart wrenching. She knew it was time to go home to get help because she couldn't do anything. Her words aren't getting through Allen and Allen was still trembling.

"Finish them off, Akumas! Lero, let's go!" Road called out as she summoned one of her heart doors.

"Hai, Road-sama!" the Akumas responded.

"Let's go, ~relo! We must get Allen-tama back to the Earl ~relo!" Lero said with worry, even Lero knew this was not good.

"Bye bye, exorcists," Road called out. Then she fixed Lenalee with a glare, "The next time anyone in my family sees you, you are dead meat."

Road easily picked Allen up onto her arms bridal style and began walking through her door, back to the Earl's mansion. She wasn't all too excited about Millennie's reaction, she knew he was going to be mad when he sees Allen's current condition, this was even worse than Allen getting physically hurt.

Once she walked through her door, she was in her room back in the Earl's mansion. She carefully set down Allen, who was still muttering and trembling, onto her bed. "Lero, get Millennie right away!"

"Yes, Road-tama!" Lero said as it darted out of her room and went straight to the Earl without delay.

"Allen..."

* * *

**The next day... At a hospital...**

"Kanda! You shouldn't be getting up!" Komui yelled out as he walked into Kanda's room.

"But I am fucking healed already," Kanda said with a scowl. After Road had left with Allen in her arms, Kanda finished off the other two Akuma and immediately, the world that they were in shattered into pieces and they were back in Miranda's room. After calling headquarters with a report for their situation and immediate medical attention, Kanda finally persuaded Miranda to deactivate her Innocence. Kanda passed out and when he woke up, he was in a hospital room, but his wounds were already mostly healed.

"Kanda... What happened in Rewinding Town? Something serious must have happened to cause such a havoc and so much damage on my dear sister!" Komui said with a serious and concerned expression.

Kanda told him in details everything that happened and when he was finished, Komui was shocked and scrunched his face with concern.

"How is Lenalee?" Kanda asked as he remembered the state Lenalee was in after he finished off the Akumas.

"It's a miracle that she is still alive. She is currently in a coma and covered in wounds. She also has broken legs and ankles along with a broken arm and a completely burnt arm," Komui stated gravely as he remembered how his sister looked when he had first arrived.

"It isn't a miracle. That Noah, Road or whatever her name is, probably left it that way on purpose. She could have easily dealt the finishing blow to Lenalee, but she didn't," Kanda said as he remembered catching glimpse of Lenalee being tortured.

"You could be right," Komui said as he thought it over.

"Oh yeah, Komui. If you don't want to fucking lose your sister, keep her away from the battlefield," Kanda warned as Road's departing words rung in his mind.

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"The Road girl said and I quote: "The next time anyone in my family sees you, you are dead meat." So unless you fucking want your sister dead, keep her away from the battlefield because we don't fucking know when any of the family members will appear and we don't even know who they are except for this girl and that other dark-skinned man at Martel,"

"EH? Why would they want my sweet sister Lenalee dead?" Komui said with shock.

"Because she fucking insulted Allen! Didn't you hear a single word I said? Your sister fucking insulted Allen, telling him that he is a fucking human himself which I think was bad judgment on her part because that fucking kid started tearing up and that Road started going fucking crazy because Lenalee hurt Allen with her words or whatever," Kanda said with annoyance. This was the first time he has ever talked so much, he even surprised himself. But he knew it was vital information to the Order and it required immediate attention. "Oh and just a fucking piece of advice, make sure no one, and I mean absolutely no one, ever start to fucking insult the baka Moyashi because judging from Road's words and action, they will be dead meat."

"Uh... Yeah... I will make sure words get out that insulting this Baka Moyashi, whom I assume is Allen, will be like asking for suicide," Komui said with a nervous laugh. "Anything―"

"Oi, Yuu-chan!" A voice suddenly shouts out with cheerfulness as a red head appears at the door.

"Don't fucking call me that, Baka usagi!" Kanda growls out and Mugen was instantly at said rabbit's throat.

"Oi oi, Yuu-chan. Calm down! I am here for an important mission," The red head said as he raised his hands up, as if admitting defeat.

"Greetings, Lavi! Kanda, lower Mugen. Lavi, where is Bookman?" Komui said and Kanda grudgingly sheaths his Mugen.

"Gramps is treating Lenalee right now," Lavi informed with a smile as Kanda began walking back to the bed and sat down.

"How?"

"Acupuncture for her nerves. Her nerves were damaged you know, besides the outward injuries."

"I know, baka usagi. Besides that, why the hell are you here too, Komui? Shouldn't you be working?" Kanda began watching Komui carefully and the twitch in Komui's body didn't go unseen.

"He he he, now now, Kanda, why would you think of me like that?" Komui said with a nervous laugh.

"Komui, what the hell is the Noah Clan?" Kanda asked with a glare that made sure Komui would answer truthfully.

"That's what he came to ask me, Yuu-chan. Be patient!" Lavi lightly scolded with a smile even though he had a serious expression in his eyes. Kanda itched to pull out his Mugen once again, but he wanted an answer and Lavi seemed to have that answer.

"So? What do you know?" Kanda asked as he tried to not snap at the baka usagi.

"Noah isn't mentioned anywhere except in historical events, it's a groundless clan name. Their name often appears in history, but there isn't anything written down about them. They are people chosen by the Earl. That's why you came out especially, right Komui? In this world, Bookman is the only one who knows about unrecorded histo―"

Suddenly a kick coming out of nowhere landed on Lavi's face, successfully leaving a mark on Lavi and knocking him down.

"Stop your chattering!" a short man with black rings around his eyes like a panda scolded and turned to face to the fallen red-head. "You should know this by now. Only Bookman can reveal information about Bookman!"

Kanda couldn't help but inwardly snicker at the red-head who is in obvious trouble while Komui just watched impassively. After all, if Lavi does get fatally injured or scolded, it would only mean one less possible boyfriend for his dear innocent sister.

"What's the big deal, it's okay," Lavi said with a cheerful smile. "I'll take over from you soon and become the Bookman, Panda-jiji."

The Bookman then leaned in until he was only a few inches from Lavi's face with a serious expression, "Don't be ridiculous!" Lavi couldn't help but had a 'oops, I am in trouble' look on his face. "It's still too soon for somebody as inexperienced as you!"

Lavi now had on an annoyed smile and leaned in, "You old panda…!"

Then a panda-like hand with metal clawed fingers appeared and smacked Lavi's head from the side and the Bookman was obviously annoyed and displeased.

The Bookman then appeared in front of Kanda, "I apologize for my idiot apprentice's immature behavior."

"Hey, you old panda! I am so not immature!" Lavi protested and immediately, he got smacked on the side of the head. "That hurts, dammit!" Lavi cried out as he clutched the spot where he got hit.

"Be silent!" Bookman commanded while Kanda just watched, enjoying Lavi's pain.

But then Kanda remembered something. "Bookman, how is Lenalee doing?"

"Lenalee still hasn't woken up or moved. Even though I have done all I can, it will probably be a while before she wakes up."

"I understand, Bookman. All we can do for her is wait," Komui said with a sad smile.

"From what I have heard from Komui, it seems that the kid we are searching for, Allen was it, was with a girl who said she belongs to the Clan of Noah. Am I correct?" The Bookman asked as Lavi stood up and brushed himself off.

"Yes. Who are the Clan of Noahs?" Kanda asked.

"They are a group of super humans who aid the Earl in his plot to destroy the humanity. A Noah can be identified by their gray skin tone, yellow or gold eyes and a horizontal line of seven cross-shaped stigmatas that can be referred to as holy marks. There are only thirteen of them, as far as we know, and they are human descendents of Noah who have inherited his genes."

"But why the fuck is there an Innocence accommodator among them? And why are these people the Moyashi's fucking family? And did I also mention that Lenalee got this fate of hers because she had insulted this Moyashi and thus, angered that maniac girl?" Kanda spitted out, the Bookman's description of the Noahs matched perfectly with that girl who called herself Road.

"An Innocence accommodator? Are you sure? This is unheard of, Yuu-chan!" Lavi exclaimed with surprise-filled eyes while the Bookman just narrowed his eyes.

"Of course I am sure, baka usagi! The Moyashi himself confirmed it and I even got a look at his Innocence when he protected that other woman," Kanda said as he glared at Lavi.

"He protected Miranda? And he really is an Innocence accommodator? How did his Innocence look like?"

"Yes, he did, although he only did it because he wanted more 'fun'. And he was completely white in his Innocence form, he had a jester-like appearance and he wore a fur-lined cape. His left arm was also metal and had razor sharp claws as well as a white mask." Kanda was annoyed with Lavi's questions and he had on his ever-present scowl.

"He must be the 'Destroyer of Time' Hevlaska was talking about when she sensed that critical point breaker…" Komui drifted off as he remembered the words Hevlaska spoke.

"Destroyer of Time? Time as in the Millennium Earl?" Lavi asked, he had heard about that prophecy and that mysterious point breaker, but he knew that this Innocence accommodator didn't belong to the Order. When he looked up from his thoughts, his eyes met with Komui and Kanda's shocked eyes. "What? You guys haven't ever thought about that? Millennium, Time. Time, Millennium."

"S-so now what?" Kanda choked out, realizing how deep the shit they were in was, "If baka usagi is right, then the Destroyer of Millennium aka the fatso is this baka Moyashi. But what can we do when this Destroyer is not on our side, and is on the fatso's side instead?"

"Crap," Lavi muttered, fully understanding what Kanda was saying.

"We can still try to find the Heart?" Komui suggested with weary. He knew that this was not good, the only one who can kill the Earl is on the Earl's side? How is that good at all?

"And what if the fucking Heart is also the baka Moyashi?" Kanda asked, voicing Lavi's thoughts as well.

"Um… not good?" Lavi asked while the Bookman just silently watched this conversation taking place.

"Okay then… our first priority now besides finding Innocence and killing off Akuma is to locate Allen and bring him back to Headquarters," Komui announced as he went through the current situation in his head. There was a stray Innocence accommodator out there, not really since he is on the Earl's side, but this accommodator could be the Heart _and_ possibly the only one who could destroy the Earl and bring an end to this war.

"Um… Komui?" Lavi asked as he remembered something.

"Yes, Lavi?"

"There's a flaw in your plans," Lavi stated and Komui's eyes widened.

"What do you mean?"

"Okay, Lena-lady is in a coma and fatally injured _just_ because she insulted Allen. I don't want to imagine what will happen to us if we try kidnapping Allen and bring him back to Headquarters," Lavi explained and everyone realized what he said was right.

"Shit, the baka usagi is right," Kanda muttered. He was reluctant to agree with the baka usagi, but he knew it first hand from seeing Lenalee's fate that the Clan of Noah won't be happy about the Moyashi being kidnapped _at all_.

"But… but what if Allen comes with us willingly?" Komui said in a hopeful tone, but he knew that it was just a childish thought.

"Do you fucking think the Moyashi will come with us willingly?" Kanda said with a scowl. "The baka Moyashi fucking hates humans."

"What are we going to do now?" Lavi asked as he dropped down to his knees since they were in a dead end, and even a genius like him couldn't figure out a solution. Bookman and him weren't suppose to interfere or have feelings, but how the hell can they just sit still and stay neutral when the world is going to end?

"Well, we still have to try and bring him back. We can't just let him stay on the Earl's side without a fight, especially when we now suspect him of being on General level, be the Destroyer of Time and possibly be the Heart Innocence. I shall contact all the branch leaders and Generals of everything, and also have all the exorcists and finders on the lookout for Allen, okay?" Komui asked as he began to walking towards the room's exit.

"Yes, Komui."

"Che."

* * *

**Back with the Noahs…**

"Tyki… Millennie… is Allen okay?" Road asked worriedly as she watched the still boy tucked into her bed, afraid of the answer.

"Rodo, he will be fine, I think… but what happened?" the Earl asked as he watched his dear Allen peacefully sleeping.

"I am not really sure, Allen just suddenly became like that when that girl reminded him he was a human," Road said and Tyki's eyes narrowed as he sat on the edge of Road's bed. "Then I could tell that he was reliving something, probably his past. I left him to Lero to take care of and I beat up that girl, but made sure she lived. He soon started calling out my name and kept saying that he was a monster." Tears began welling up in Road's eyes as she remembered the pain she heard and saw from Allen. Noahs weren't suppose to cry so easily and be so human like this, but Allen had always been able to bring out the human in them that they had thought were lost.

"So… Shounen still isn't able to forget his past…" Tyki whispered as he began stroking the boy's hair.

* * *

**Somewhere in Europe…**

Klaud couldn't believe her ears. Komui had just told her about the recent events and how part of their priority now was to find Allen and bring him back to headquarters, but she still couldn't believe how Allen had turned out. She had never caught sight of him again after that fateful meeting at the train station four years ago, but she had never given up.

'_What happened to Allen? Why is he on the Earl's side now?_' Even though Klaud Nyne's head was in a big jumble and turmoil, she knew there was one thing that she must do.

'_I must find Allen before anyone else from the Order does…_'

* * *

**A/N: So… how was that chapter? I am going to try to make this short… I hope you guys don't mind my usually long author notes! :) I am going to try to not 'talk' as much… lol. Anyways… yeah, this chapter was more like a RoadxAllen chapter than a Poker Pair chapter. RoadxAllen is my second favorite pairing and I didn't just want to focus on Tyki and Allen entirely, I also want to focus on the other family relationships Allen has with the other family members as well. Okay? **

**Miranda is from Germany, so she of course speaks German as well, but she is also pretty fluent in English and it is in English that she is speaking with Kanda and Lenalee. I guess the main language that everyone is speaking will be English because: 1) English is sorta like a universal language. 2) it will make things much easier. But the Earl, Noahs and Allen are going to mix in a little Japanese sometimes because the Earl's base is in Japan and since the Earl knows Japanese and is fluent at it, his family would probably know a lot Japanese as well. But in the anime… Miranda was like using Japanese suffix like –san and –kun, so I was like… why does Miranda know these suffixes? She is German, for pete's sake and they are in Europe! –sigh- whatever. Lol. Btw, Rodo is like the Japanese way of saying Road, in case any of you didn't know. :)**

**And you know how Allen had this breakdown after Lenalee said "You are a human yourself!" or something among those lines? Well… I am not trying to portray Allen as weak or anything. Allen is actually pretty strong, but he is super insecure about himself being a human while the rest of his loved ones (The Noahs) are not. Because as he had said himself, he thinks humans are pathetic and weak, but he is a human himself… Also, his past is also something that continues to haunt him even to this day, why? Because well, he has been called a monster and rejected his entire life. Even if he tries to ignores it and pretends it doesn't bother him, he still can't ignore it and it still hurts him every single time someone says that to him. His insecurity about being a human and the relationship that he has with the rest of the Noahs is going to play some part in my story. *sad smile* but other than that insecurity, he is like… mature and strong. I just thought I should clarify that after reading a review and I didn't want any misunderstanding on that part. I also want a mature and strong Allen as well~! :) **

**Did I also mention that I did get a lot of the chapter's dialogue from the subbed version of the anime? Like that Skin part with the sweets, well the Allen involvement was an add-in. And like the part with Kanda and Lenalee in the alley's dead end, except I had to change some parts since it was Allen and Lenalee that was in the actual anime… Cause some of those lines Allen says... there's no way Kanda would say them. lol. So I had to modify it. :) There are also more parts, but those are the only ones I can think of at the top of my head. **

**Oh yeah… did I mention? ****Special special thanks ****to: _Miss Jessi_**_**-pon **_**and **_**Sachiel Angelo**_**! The two of you helped me create more of my plot and got me off to a great start! Your ideas are super awesome! :) And yes. I did use some of their ideas~ Keeping Lala as a singing doll was Sachiel Angelo's idea~ :) And -pon had helped me outline this chapter and I must thank her! :)**

**Thanks so much for reading this you guys~ I am getting super happy from the reviews and it does power me on! So you know the drill… drop me a _review_ if you want me to update faster, or else I might just take 2 weeks to update… :P I am too spoiled by all the increasing reviews. But I love this story~ so I probably won't be able to stay away from it too long anyways. Hehe. See you next time~ P**

**P.S. Just a heads up~ I am going to be changing my penname from 'zenophobia' to 'zenophobiaz'! :) hehe. **

**Review~! And I failed at making my author notes short. Oh well… hope you guys don't mind my super duper long author notes! But I will try harder to make them short and sweet. :D**

**~Zen**


	11. Chapter 11: The Reunion

**A/N: *cheers* I finally updated after a five-months long absence on Heart of the Musician~! Sorry to you readers for being such an irresponsible author who is also big on procrastination and addiction of fanfics. ^^;; But alas, the newest chapter of HoM has arrived. Thank you to all of you reviewers and readers who have read my story and reviewed and/or put me on story alert and/or favorite list! :D You guys are super awesome. I am very amazed by the 160 reviews this story has and the 106 favorites and 91 alerts... This has made me very very happy~**

**This chapter is dedicated to: Miss. Jessi-pon, who has been a big help in getting this chapter done and gave me tons of ideas, Allen Walker, whose birthday is TODAY~! (Well, his adoption date is, who knows what his real birthday is?), and my lovely lovely best friend, cute-nina, whose birthday is tomorrow and she is the one who kept on telling me to write the next chapter of the story. Happy birthday, Allen~ and Happy early birthday, cute-nina~! I love you all~**

**Well, I am not going to keep you guys here any longer~ Forgive me for my absence and enjoy this new chapter~! I hope you guys will like it! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays~ This is my present for you all. :)**

* * *

**Chapter 11 – The Reunion**

* * *

"Why did you bring me here?" Allen asked as he surveyed his surroundings and remembered what happened when he woke up in his room…

**Flashback…**

"Allen~!" Road called out as she opened the doors into her room, where Allen was currently residing, with Tyki close behind her heels. She had sensed that Allen had woken up a few minutes ago and after informing the family, she had rushed off to check on Allen, hoping he would be okay. "How are you― Allen! What's wrong?"

Road immediately rushed over and her face scrunched in worry when she witnessed the white-haired boy curled up on her bed with tears streaming down his face.

Upon hearing Road's entrance, Allen furiously swiped away his tears, attempting to hide away all evidence of his sobbing, but he knew that they had saw him in that pathetic state. "N-nothing," Allen said with a quick fraud smile, his voice was clearly a little hoarse from all the crying.

"Like hell it's nothing, Shounen," Tyki said with a scowl and worried expression.

"R-really, it's nothing!" Allen said as Road climbed onto the bed and threw her arms around her.

"_Allen_, don't try telling me it's nothing. It's clearly something, your face is soaked with tears!" Tyki said, putting an emphasis on Allen's given names. Tyki began walking towards Allen, finally getting over his initial shock at seeing Allen's tear soaked face and eyes that were filled with pain and sorrow.

Allen knew Tyki was being serious, he was even using his given name! Allen struggled to find some sort of reassurance for the worried man in front of him, but he found none. Not only that, he was also struggling to keep the water gate in his eyes from bursting open, but the force was too great and his tears began running past his eyelids like a waterfall.

"Allen, _please_, tell us what is bothering you and causing you so much pain," Tyki whispered, his voice laced with concern, as he placed his hand on Allen's shoulder and Road just tightened her embrace when Allen began shaking with sorrow. Tyki and Road's heart were wrenching with pain as they watched the boy in front of them crumble into pieces, the pain that they were feeling was raw and the only one who was able to cause that pain would be Allen.

"I… I… I a-am a mo-monster… a-a monster…" Allen sobbed out.

"Allen! You are not a monster! Why would you believe in such a thing?" Road quickly exclaimed.

"**Allen**, let's go. Road and I are going to bring you somewhere. Get cleaned up," Tyki said with a frown. Today was one of Allen's special days, but the boy was so torn up that he even forgot what today was.

"W-where?" Allen croaked out as he looked up and tried to search for clues in Tyki's facial features.

"You will see…"

**End of flashback…**

"Do you even remember what today is?" Tyki asked with a raised eyebrow, pulling Allen back to the present.

Allen racked his head for an answer, but nothing showed up. Allen shook his head once and replied, "No, what is today?"

Tyki let out an exasperated sigh. "Check out where we are first."

Allen looked around once more and this time, recognition began seeping into his eyes. He turned to face Tyki sharply. "Why are we here?"

"Do you remember what month we are in, Allen?" Road finally spoke up. She was sitting on top of a rock with a lollipop in her hand.

Allen's eyes widened in shock as he finally remembered what today is. "It's Sylvia's death anniversary."

"Yes. You were so torn up that you didn't even remember what today is, Shounen," Tyki remarked with a tint of sadness, remembering the state of mind that Allen was in.

"Thank you, Tyki. Thank you, Road," Allen said with a grateful smile as he began walking towards Sylvia's grave.

Sylvia's grave was located in a cemetery outside of Allen's hometown. The cemetery had several trees and it had a peaceful feel to it.

When Allen reached his grandmother's grave along with the two Noahs, he could see many people had come to pay his grandmother a visit. Allen smiled slightly. No matter how long it has been since Sylvia died, the townspeople still remembered her and gave her the respect that she deserved.

Allen held up his hand and soon received a bouquet of white roses. Allen gently placed the flowers in front of Sylvia's grave and sat down. He pulled his legs up and his arms around his legs.

Road jumped up and sat on a random person's grave, swinging her legs back and forth, while Tyki leaned against a nearby tree's trunk and watched Allen in silence.

After an half hour of silence, Allen suddenly spoke up. "I wonder what happened to my parents…"

"Allen…" Road began.

Allen ignored her and continued. "Maybe they are living a happily-ever-after life or maybe they have a new child now. They were probably rejoicing when they realized that the monster is gone forever," Allen ended with a bitter chuckle as a lone tear began sliding down.

"Shounen, why are you doing this to yourself? They are not worth your grief. They are just worthless people who don't know what they lost."

"Allen dear, Tyki-pon is right. You shouldn't beat yourself up like this. Those worthless humans aren't worth your tears," the Millennium Earl consoled as he suddenly appeared out of nowhere, slightly surprising everyone.

"But… but…" More tears began flowing out and soon sobs could be heard from Allen.

"Boy… it's okay… Everything will be okay, but―" the Earl was suddenly interrupted by a newcomer's voice.

"What are you doing here, fatso?" A voice full of annoyance and contempt demanded.

Everyone in the graveyard looked up, only to be met with the sight of a red-headed teen stumbling to a stop and a raven-haired teen standing with his hand around the hilt of his katana.

* * *

**A little while earlier…**

"Yuu-chan~! Where are you going?" Lavi called out as he chased after the samurai teen with their finder following them.

"The train station. Komui told us about the new mission, did he not? I am heading to Rome and you are going there with me as backup. Or maybe―" Kanda suddenly broke off when he heard some sobs. "Oi, baka usagi, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Lavi asked as his ears searched for a sound that doesn't fit in. Soon, he heard sobs as well. "Someone is crying?"

Kanda looked at Lavi like he was an idiot. "Che, what else, baka usagi?"

Then Kanda began running towards the source of the sobs.

"Hey! YUU-CHAN~! Wait up!" Lavi shouted as he quickly chased after Kanda along with the finder.

Kanda reached a cemetery and when he looked around, he found the figure of a rounded figure and a smaller figure sitting in front of a grave.

"Boy… it's okay… Everything will be okay, but―" the rounded figure began.

"Hey, Yuu-chan," Lavi whispered when he was within hearing range of Kanda. "What are we―"

Ignoring Lavi, Kanda immediately recognized the rounded figure and spoke up, "What are you doing here, fatso?"

* * *

**Back to the present…**

"Ah… I guess we have visitors… Earl, you were being too loud," Tyki remarked with amusement, not the slightest worried about the unexpected visitors.

"Tyki-pon, how mean." The Earl's eyes narrowed when he recognized the newcomers as exorcists. "Road dear, are those the ones from that German town?"

"The raven-haired one is… but I don't recognize the other one, so I don't think so," Road replied, giving the newcomers a measuring glance.

"Is he the one who hurt our dear Allen?" the Earl questioned with malice and Lavi visibly gulped in fear.

'_Shit, the Earl is right in front of us and so are two other Noahs… and they all want to seek revenge for Allen. Oh Lena-lady, you are so screwed. We are screwed as well. We won't stand a chance against the Earl himself, two Noahs and one very-experienced Innocence-user if they decide to attack us,'_ Lavi thought to himself as he fully comprehended what he was seeing.

"No… it was this green-haired girl… I think her name is Lenalee or something like that."

"Baka Moyashi?" Kanda asked as he finally got a good look at the figure in front of the grave. '_What the hell is baka Moyashi doing in a graveyard?_'

Allen faced Kanda with slightly puffed eyes. "Ah… it's BaKanda…"

Kanda twitched with annoyance and began walking towards Allen. "Who the hell are you calling BaKanda?"

Allen snorted. "Who else?"

"Kanda-dono, Lavi-dono, what is going on?" The exorcists' finder finally spoke up. Then he turned to look at the white-haired boy. "Al-allen?"

"Eh…? Finder-san! You know him?" Lavi questioned in surprise while Kanda glanced at the finder with narrowed eyes.

"Ah… yes… He is Allen. Allen Anglisio."

Allen's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Who are you? How do you know that last name?"

"Allen… do you not remember me? I am Marcel from Tonnerre," the finder replied.

Recognition appeared in Allen's eyes. "Ah. It's you, Marcel. How are you doing?"

"Good… how about you, Allen?" Marcel questioned, relieved that Allen didn't hate him for not being there when the boy was banished from the town.

"I am doing good. I am Allen Walker now. Anglisio is not my last name anymore."

"Oh… I apologize for that." Then Marcel looked away with shame. "I must also apologize for not speaking up for you. I had caught a bad fever and sore throat, so I was stuck in bed, but it was still no excuse to not do anything."

"Ah, it's okay. Don't worry about it. Tonnerre is gone anyways." Allen said the last part with a wicked smile. Road and Tyki also had on a similar smile.

"Y-you know?" Marcel asked with shock.

"Of course… I was the one who sent it to flames," Allen admitted as Lavi's and the finder's eyes widened in astonishment while Kanda stayed calm. He had already known about it ever since rewinding town, but he suddenly remembered that he had left that out when he was reporting to Komui.

Lavi and Marcel couldn't believe what they were hearing and how Allen admitted it so openly. Lavi turned to face Kanda, only to see that his friend wasn't even fazed. "Yuu-chan… you knew about it already?"

"Yeah, baka Moyashi told us. I guess I forgot to report it to headquarters." Kanda was too caught up with seeing Allen to even hit Lavi for using his first name.

"How?" Marcel asked.

"With me and my family of course."

"Why aren't you a Fallen One then?"

"Because I am special."

Marcel didn't know what he was feeling. He wanted to feel anger and hatred towards the boy, but he couldn't. He remembered all the suffering that the boy went through in his town and how nobody spoke up even once. People even framed him and people who didn't agree just stood on the sidelines. They had all judged him because of his appearance.

"Do you hate me?" Allen asked emotionlessly. "Do you think I am a monster?"

"Allen…" Road spoke up, catching everyone's attention, except for Allen.

"It's okay, Road. I want to hear the truth," Allen replied with a smile of sadness.

"I can't blame you," Marcel finally replied. "After what everyone at Tonnerre had done to you, I can't say that I blame you for what you did back."

Allen's eyes widened in surprise. "Really… That is certainly a surprise. Are you a finder now?"

"Yes, I am."

"I guess―"

"Allen?" a female voice that was way too familiar to Allen called out uncertainly, making Allen look up at the source. "Is that really you?"

"Klaud? Klaud?" Allen called out excitedly with a big smile and ran towards the general who was standing at the entrance of the graveyard with a bouquet of flowers and a pleasantly surprised face, but then she saw the other group of exorcists there and narrowed her eyes.

Ignoring the group of exorcists, Klaud dropped the bouquet and welcomed Allen warmly with open arms. Allen threw his arms around Klaud with a big smile and inhaled the lavender scent coming from Klaud. Allen terribly missed her scent over the years, always yearning to once again be in her arms and now his wish was finally granted. He had finally found her, the one he had searched for in secret for so long. Klaud welcomed Allen without hesitation and enjoyed the warmth that was coming from Allen, she had missed this little guy a whole lot.

"I have missed you so much, Klaud!" Allen snuggled closer into the caress and tears of happiness welled in his eyes. "Where have you been? Have you been doing well? Are they treating you well? Is Lau Shimin doing well? You feeding him well?"

Klaud just smiled at the bombarding of questions and allowed the happiness of seeing the boy once again settle in before speaking, "I have missed you a lot too, Allen!" Klaud was so glad that Allen was still the Allen he she knew all those years ago, no matter what the Order had told her, she knew that Allen's inside was still that pure and warm boy she loved.

The one thought that was running through the exorcists' and finder's mind was: _'What the hell is going on? Allen is calling General Nyne "Klaud" so casually and with love? And General Nyne has such a loving smile on her face!_' The exorcists were frozen to the ground while the Noahs and the Earl just watched with content and fondness, they didn't mind this at all, in fact, they were happy that Allen is so happy. Allen hasn't been like that for a long long while and they knew that Allen was very close to this particular General. They were actually grateful towards the General for taking such good care of the boy and for loving him like that.

"Allen… It really is you… I can't believe it." Then Klaud's eyes took on a look of remorse. "I am sorry that I lost you."

'_So she really didn't leave me on purpose…'_ Allen thought with a satisfied smile, fully believing Klaud without a second thought. Klaud would never lie to him, he knew that for a fact. "How have you been, Klaud?" Allen pulled back slightly to have a good look at his mother-like figure.

"I have been alright, I guess. But how about you? Where have you been?" Klaud questioned as her eyes swept over the audience, finally noticing the hidden figures of the Earl and two other people. "Who are they, Allen?"

"They?" Allen turned to look at where Klaud was looking at. "Oh… them. The girl is Road Kamelot and that man over there is Tyki Mikk. And the last one is Millennie."

Road waved in greetings and Tyki just nodded. The Earl just watched them with caution.

"Are they the ones who have been taking care of you?" Klaud asked, beginning to have suspicions of who these people are, especially since the Earl was there too.

"Uh-huh. They have brought me into their family with full acceptance."

"Allen, do you know who they are?" Klaud questioned as she looked at the three with narrowed eyes.

"Ah, Klaud. I guess you realized already," Allen said with a shrug as he pulled away completely and Klaud reluctantly let him go. Allen skipped back to Sylvia's grave, ignoring the exorcists and finder. "Road is the Noah of Dreams and Tyki is the Noah of Pleasure. I am sure you know who the Earl is."

Klaud's eyes narrowed more, but the Noahs didn't even seem fazed. "Then why are you with them? Are you really going against humanity?"

"Hey! Hold on, General Nyne, we are not here to fight. We are just accompanying our dear Allen," Road said casually, holding up her hands.

"Klaud, I really missed you and still love you a lot, but please don't go all judgmental on my _family_," Allen said, emphasizing the family part. "They have been nothing _but_ family."

Klaud looked away with guilt, she has been being judgmental and she was the one who had told Allen not to be judgmental.

"Meh. Klaud, don't mind it. It's okay. The Order does have a bad view of the Noahs. It's understandable," Allen assured with a dismissive wave. "So are you here to visit grandmother?"

"Yes, I visit her every few years. But I never expected you to be here. Do you come visit often?" Klaud questioned as she began ignoring the Noahs and the exorcists. She picked up the bouquet of Elderberry Blossoms, which were Sylvia's favorite flowers, that she had brought and headed towards Sylvia's grave.

"Uh-huh. I visit her every year on her birthday and death anniversary. I guess it makes sense that I never see you since I always visit in the middle of the night, like now."

Klaud placed the bouquet of flowers in front of the grave and bowed in respect. "Yeah, I usually visit her during the day time. But today, I just came back from a mission so I was held back by various delays and I had my team with me."

"I see. Was your mission four years ago successful?" Allen asked as he sat cross-legged with his arms supporting him from behind.

"Okay, what the hell is going on?" Kanda questioned, tired of being ignored. His companions looked at him in slight surprise.

Allen shrugged with nonchalance. "What do you mean?"

"Yuu-chan here," Lavi began and Kanda immediately glared at the red-haired teen, but Lavi ignored him and continued, "is wondering how the two of you know each other and how come you two seem so familiar with each other."

"Oh… ah. Well… you see. Long story short, Klaud here was my mentor and friend for a while after I was kicked from my hometown," Allen replied with a smile.

"Allen-dear, you shouldn't explain so much," the Earl suddenly spoke up with his ever-present grin, surprising the rest of the people except for the Noahs and Allen. No, the grin was not what surprised them, it was the tone of gentleness and care that was present in the Earl's voice when he spoke to the boy.

"Millennie, don't worry about it~ I am sure that they won't tell everyone," Allen said with a dismissive wave but then he looked at the exorcists in the eye, his words taking on a threatening tone, "Right?"

Lavi and Marcel visibly gulped with uneasiness.

"O-of course! O-of course, right Yuu-chan?" Lavi quickly replied with cold sweat dotting his forehead. Lavi looked at Kanda, urging him to agree.

"Che. Whatever, Moyashi," Kanda said, turning his head to the side with a scowl.

"Allen, let's just tell them the minimum need-to-know," Klaud suggested, giving her fellow exorcists an untrusting glance. Even though she's an exorcist herself, a general no less, she would never betray Allen and give Allen up to the Order. She knows what they are capable of and she wouldn't want Allen to end up in the Order's hands, especially that Leverrier's.

"I agree with her," Road spoke up, letting others know of her opinion. She was looking at the exorcists with looks of suspicion.

"Shounen, do what you must." Tyki seemed to be uncaring about what's happening, but if you looked deep into his eyes, you would be able to see the worry that he was feeling about this.

Allen just shrugged in response and said, "Alright alright, I will just tell them the need-to-know even if we could have just erased their memory along with the golem's recordings. But before that… Millennie, what is your purpose in coming here? I am sure it's not just to comfort me."

The Earl let out a chuckle that sent shivers down the exorcists' back. "You know me so well, Allen. I am here to give you and Tyki-pon your next task."

"Aw, Millennie~ Why can't I go with them as well?" Road complained with a pout.

"Actually, the three of you have something to do after Tyki and Allen gets back from their mission."

Road instantly perked up at the Earl's words. "Really?"

"Yes yes~ I think you will rather like your task."

"Okay, cut the chit-chatters. Please remember we have guests with us," Tyki warned, giving the so-called "guests" a look of warning, clearly telling them to forget everything that they have heard.

"Of course we remember, Tyki-_pon_," Road said, giving Tyki a glare. "We are not idiots."

"Sure seems like it," Tyki muttered under his breath, but unfortunately for him, the Earl and Road heard him.

"What did you say, Tyki-pon? Would you like to repeat it?" the Earl asked in a sugar-coated voice with a way-too-sweet smile.

"N-no. I w-was just talking to myself," Tyki hurriedly said with held-up hands. '_Shit, I am so screwed._'

"Now now, let's move on to the important business," Allen intervened, giving Tyki a 'you-owe-me' look.

Tyki let out a breath of relief and nodded.

"Here you go, read this after you are done," the Earl said as he took out a envelope from one of his many pockets and handed it to Allen's outstretched hand.

"Alright. Thank you. Are you going now?" Allen asked as he took a look at the outside of the envelope before putting it away in his jacket's inner pocket.

"Yes, I have other business to attend to. See you soon, Allen dear," the Earl said as one of Road's doors appeared behind him.

"Bye, Millennie," Road and Allen called out at the same time.

"Do take care of Allen for me," the Earl told them, giving them a last glance, before entering the door.

"Yes, Millennie/Earl," Road and Tyki promised.

"Now that the fatso's gone, speak up," Kanda demanded with a scowl.

"Allen, are you cold?" Road asked as she jumped off the gravestone and dusted off her skirt, completely ignoring Kanda's demand.

"No, I am fine," Allen replied with a knowing chuckle.

"Are you sure?" Road asked as she walked towards Allen.

"Yes, I am."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Are you super sure?"

The other exorcists looked at them with confusion and wondered, '_Are they sure they don't need to be checked up in the hospital?_'

"I know what you guys are asking yourself," Tyki spoke up with an amused chuckle. "You are wondering if they are going crazy. No they are not. Road is just being over-cautious."

"What do you mean?" Lavi asked, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Road just doesn't want to get in trouble if Shounen catches a cold or something, so she's asking him that question repeatedly to make sure Shounen is okay. But either way, she will still what she is set to do, which is providing him with warmth."

"Warmth? How?"

"You will see," Tyki answered with a smirk and his eyes turned back to Allen.

"Road… just do whatever you want," Allen said with an exasperated smile.

Road just grinned as an army of her specialized candles appeared and surrounded Allen. Her candles were already lit and it immediately warmed Allen up.

"Thanks… now let's get back on topic," Allen began as he got up and turned to face Kanda. "Would you like to talk about this here or somewhere else?"

"Talk. **Now**," Kanda commanded impatiently.

"Of course," Allen replied with a smile and jumped up, landing on a tree branch of the tree that Tyki was leaning against. "But first… you must swear on your life that you won't tell anyone else about this unless I give you permission. And also…" the golem that was flapping near the finder shattered into little pieces. "…that must be destroyed."

"H-how?" Lavi sputtered with widened eyes filled with shock.

Allen just smiled mysteriously and began telling them of how his life was in his hometown and his grandmother's eventual death. He told them that his grandmother died from an akuma attack and he was rescued because his grandmother protected him and Klaud's team had arrived, which was part of the truth. He of course mentioned all the suffering he had been through after and before his grandmother's death. He then delved into what happened that led his banishment from the town and how Klaud basically adopted him afterwards.

When he was done, everyone was in a contemplative silence until Lavi spoke up. "So… I get all that. But how come General Nyne is here visiting your grandmother? I doubt General Nyne visits every victim's dead relative, even if you were once under her."

Allen let out a chuckle of amusement. "You are as sharp as always, junior bookman. Of course… there's more to that… but you will have to find out on your own."

"Aw… really? Why can't you just tell us?" Lavi asked childishly with a pout, but from his eyes, you could tell he was dead serious and he was definitely suspicious about Allen not telling the entire story.

"Quit it with the act," Tyki spoke up. "It's getting annoying."

"What do you mean?" Klaud asked with a raised eyebrow.

It was Allen who answered. "Lavi here, is very suspicious about us not telling the whole story and he's just faking his childishness. Tyki is annoyed by that."

Lavi immediately sobered up and his eyes narrowed. "Sharp eyes you three have. If you know what I want, then would you mind satisfying my curiosity?"

The other exorcists were surprised at the sudden change of attitude that Lavi was showing.

'_Has the baka Usagi been faking his childishness this whole time we have been together?_' Kanda wondered with annoyance and decided that from now on, he was going to be observing Lavi more closely.

"Junior bookman, just look at the grave and then look deeper into this person… you will soon find the missing pieces of this puzzle," Allen replied as he hopped off the branch and walked towards Klaud.

"Missing pieces?" Lavi echoed as he began approaching the grave. He read the name out loud, "Sylvia Fenette Anglisio."

"Another piece of advice. Take away Anglisio," Allen hinted as he took Klaud's left hand into his right hand.

"Why?" Lavi looked up from the grave.

"Because Anglisio is my grandfather's last name. When she married my grandfather, she took on his last name and had her maiden last name take the place of her middle name," Allen explained and began walking towards the entrance of the cemetery with Klaud. Road and Tyki began following the two.

"So… I should look up a person named Sylvia Fenette?"

"Yes. Now, my companions and I must get going. Farewell, exorcists." Allen's left arm raised in parting as one of Road's door appeared in front of them. The door opened and they all entered. "Remember your promise, Lavi, Kanda, Marcel. I will hunt you down. Lavi, I guess you can tell this to Bookman. After all, you guys are the recorders of history."

Before any of the people left behind could respond, the door had already closed and disappeared into thin air.

"Allen Walker huh, what an interesting person," Lavi remarked, only to receive a punch on his head. "Ouch! What the heck was that for, Yuu-chan?"

"For pretending to be 'cool'. Now isn't the time to say such things, we just lost the four of them and we know that they have missions ahead of them," Kanda replied with a scowl, showing no mercy on Lavi who was clutching his head, trying to smooth out the bump that had formed.

"Hai hai, Yuu-chan," Lavi replied with his usual cheerful smile. "Let's go then~! We have to head to our missions as well."

"No duh, genius," Kanda remarked sarcastically as he headed towards the entrance.

Lavi chased after him along with the finder. But suddenly, he halted in his steps and turned pale white.

Noticing his partner's sudden stillness, Kanda questioned, "What's wrong now, baka Usagi?"

"…Y-yuu-chan… do you know what time is it right now?"

"It's two in the morning, Lavi-dono," Marcel replied after taking a look at his watch.

"W-what time does our train leave?"

Marcel suddenly paled as well and Kanda narrowed his eyes. "2:15am, Lavi-dono."

"How long does it take to get to the train station?"

"Thirty minutes if we walk."

"Oh, shit!" Lavi cursed as he began running for his life towards the train station.

Kanda's eyes widened as he began a string of colorful language. "Curse you, baka usagi! You are an absolute idiot! You are going to pay for it if we miss the train."

Kanda sprinted after Lavi along with their finder.

* * *

**Meanwhile… with Klaud, Allen and the Noahs…**

"Allen, where are we?" Klaud asked, looking around at her new surroundings. She was in a very well furnished room with expensive looking furniture.

"We are currently in one of the many Kamelot mansions," Allen replied as he took a seat in the sofa that the room offered.

"And how did we get here?" Klaud took a seat in the sofa opposite of the one Allen was sitting in. The two sofas had a coffee table between them and on it was an English ceramic tea pot and four cups of tea.

"Through Road's door," Allen said, picking up one of the tea cups.

"Really."

"Yes."

"What happened to you after I lost you?" Klaud questioned, immediately getting to the point.

"Oh, many many things. Since it's already so late, why don't we talk in the morning. You can sleep in one of the guest rooms and I can have the a servant bring you the sleepwear and a change of clothes. You can stay for a day or two before leaving," Allen suggested and took a sip of his tea.

"That does sound very tempting. After all, I don't know when I will get such luxury again and I do feel pretty tired. I think I will do that," Klaud replied with a gentle smile. "You must tell me everything that happened though, promise?"

"Promise. As long as you don't tell any of this to the Order, which I am sure you won't do. I trust you, Klaud," Allen answered, happy that Klaud is going to stay with him.

"I won't. Don't worry." Klaud was relieved that Allen still trusted her so much after such a long time as well as the fact that she was on the opposing side.

"Well then, Road, can you please call some of the servants in here?" Allen requested.

Road, who was sitting on the floor against the wall, looked up and replied, "Of course~"

Tyki, who had been sitting on a windowsill with one leg up and the other hanging, stood up and headed to the room's door. "Shounen, I am going to head to my room first and freshen up."

"Alright then, I will meet you there later."

"Allen~! Sleep with me instead tonight," Road complained with a pout as she bounced up and skipped towards Allen. When she reached him, she wrapped her arms around his neck from the back of the couch.

"No, Road. Shounen is staying with me," Tyki stated firmly, leaving no more room for argument.

"I can stay with you tomorrow, Road," Allen assured with a soft smile and sent Tyki a glance that didn't let him disagree. Tyki left the room slightly annoyed.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Alright then, I will leave as well. I got to get my beauty sleep." Road got up and headed towards the door.

"Of course. Good night, Road. Sweet dreams."

"Good night, Allen. How could I not have sweet dreams?" Road said with a grin as she glanced back at Allen.

"You are right," Allen replied with a chuckle.

"Bye then." Road left the room.

"It seems that you are very loved by them," Klaud remarked with fondness once Road had left.

"Yes. I feel that way as well. The Noahs take care of me very well. They are also very protective of me. Even if I get sick in the littlest of ways, the Earl will start punishing others for not taking care of me good enough."

"Really."

"Uh-huh. That's why Road was so insistent on whether I was feeling cold or not. Getting punished by the Earl is no fun."

"I can imagine. Are you happy, Allen?" Klaud suppressed a shudder at the thought of the Earl punishing someone.

"Yes, I am. I am very content with where I am. The Noahs accept me for who I am and never judged me based on my appearance. They have made me feel loved and treasured."

"That's all I needed. Even if I try to take you back now, the Order is hunting you down and you will just end up with them, which I don't want." Klaud had on a look of dislike when she mentioned the Order.

"Thank you for informing me that I am hunted down right now. I guess I will be more careful from now on. After all, I don't exactly want the Order destroyed…" Allen said with a chuckle.

"Destroyed, huh. I wonder if that would be for the better or not?" Klaud thought out loud. She knew of all the immoral things that the Order has done and the way that the higher ups viewed the Innocence accommodators, they were nothing but a chess piece in their game to defeat the Noahs.

"Who knows. We will see, but it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. When will the Order be destroyed?"

Klaud's eyes widened. "You surely don't mean…?"

"Of course I mean that. The Noahs are going to win and the Order is going to suffer the fate that it deserves, especially the higher-ups." Allen's eyes took on a glint of dislike and coldness.

"I guess that will be the fate." Klaud remarked with a hint of sadness, knowing what Allen said was the truth. "Will you allow the exorcists to live on though?"

"Depends on what they have done in their life.

"I see."

Just then, the maid that was ordered to come finally came with Klaud's clothes in her hands.

"What took you so long, maid-san?" Allen asked gently.

"I am so sorry, Allen-sama," the akuma maid began. "There was a hold up in getting your guest's clothing because I had to find it without waking up the maids who took care of the clothing since they are human maids."

"Oh, I see. I understand. I am sorry for making this more difficult for you," Allen apologized like a gentleman. Klaud was slightly surprised at how polite Allen treated the maids. "Will you please show our guest to her room then?"

"Hai, Allen-sama. Please follow me, guest-sama."

"Thank you. Good night, Allen."

"Good night, Klaud. Sweet dreams."

* * *

**With our fellow exorcists… who have finally reached the train station…**

"Phew… we made it!" Lavi said in relief as he tried to catch his breath.

"You would be in hell if we didn't," Kanda remarked as he tried to catch his breath as well.

"Hey! It's not my fault! If you didn't run off to the cemetery, we would have been perfectly fine!"

"Che. Sure." Kanda knew that for once, Lavi was right. But after a few moments of silence, a sudden thought came to him. "Oi, baka usagi!"

"What, Yuu-chan?" Lavi replied.

"Couldn't we have just used your hammer to get here?" Kanda asked with narrowed eyes.

Lavi immediately paled and muttered. "Oh, shit." Without wasting another second, he ran off to find somewhere safe to hide.

Anyone could see the red angered aura that Kanda was sending out. He immediately chased after Lavi. "Oi, baka usagi, get back here NOW!"

"No way in hell, Yuu-chan!"

* * *

[**Note**]-

Elderberry Blossoms' meaning is humility and kindness, which I think represents Sylvia well.

The reason that Lavi used honorifics ("Eh…? Finder-san! You know him?" ) was because he is eccentric like that and he's been around Kanda too long. The reason that Allen used honorifics with the maid was because it was an akuma and they are used to the honorifics since Japan is basically their headquarters. The same reason that the maid used '-sama' instead of 'master'. That's also the way to tell regular (human) maids from akuma maids.

* * *

So how did you guys like it? Thank you for reading chapter 11 of Heart of the Musician~ Gothicgirl12, don't faint, okay? :) I hope this has taken some of your stress away.

This chapter might still have some mistakes since I proofread it quickly and wrote it as fast as I could... it is currently 4am and... my parents aren't happy about me staying up so late... oh well. It's Christmas... :)

I have no idea when my next update is. But I hope it won't be another long absence... :) I still love Heart of the Musician very much, so don't ever worry about me dropping this, okay? But I have begun on a new Gakuen Alice fanfic, so I am sorta occupied by that one as well.

Thank you for reading this story. I would love to hear some of you guys' feedback~ And I managed to keep the author's note pretty short. :) Merry Christmas~! I hope you guys all have an awesome one!

Until next time,

~Zenophobiaz

Published on: 12/25/10


	12. Chapter 12: The Vampire

**A/N:** Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! Special thanks to: skidney, Sachiel Angelo, Narutopokefan, TukkT, SailorNova007, cute-nina, Aurora Leon DeLuna, yaoirokzthebest, uchihafan32, T. A. S. XD, and nadLeeH'108! I apologize to the previous people who reviewed on the author's note and couldn't review on the actual chapter! But I love you guys a whoooooole lot for reviewing. :D Also thanks to everyone who placed this story on your story alert and/or favorite story list. I love you guys for supporting me even when I am such an irresponsible author.

I apologize for the late update and how short this chapter is. :( But I really wanted to update on Valentine's Day and I need my sleep for tomorrow, so I sort of cut this short once I found a good place to stop.

Enjoy! Sorry for grammar and typos.

**Disclaimer: As if I could ever own D. Gray Man, my drawing skills won't compare. -_-**

* * *

**Chapter 12 - The Vampire**

* * *

"So what does that letter from the Earl say? What's our next job?" Tyki questioned as he took a sip from the glass of wine in his hand. He was lying against the black-leather couch, dressed in a black dress shirt with black dress pants.

"Well, first we are supposed to head to Romania to check out a Baron named Arystar Krory where the exorcists are as well. After that, we can do whatever we want for a while before meeting up with Road and kill General Yeager. We will also be sending a message through the general," Allen replied as he juggled the multiple beanbags in his hands. The only people that were in the mansion besides the servants were Tyki and him. Road had already returned to the main Kamelot mansion after Klaud decided it was time to go.

"Arystar Krory huh. After the mission, let's go visit my human friends, alright?" Tyki suggested with an image of his friends in his mind. His visit has been long overdue.

"Alright, that's fine by me. I miss them too. Do you even know where they are?" Allen asked with a raised eyebrow, looking at Tyki while continuing his juggling without even looking.

"We usually go to Berg Mines around this time of the year, so I am guessing they will be heading there," Tyki said after contemplation.

"Alright. I will bring my disguise along then."

"When are we leaving anyways?" Tyki asked as he finished off the rest of his wine and placed the glass on a nearby end table.

"Our train leaves tonight, we will be arriving there tomorrow morning. The exorcists will get there tonight. It works better for us if they get there earlier than us." Allen stopped his juggling and placed the beanbags into his pants pocket. He was in a similar outfit to that of Tyki's with the exception of a black ribbon around his shirt's collar.

"Oh?" Tyki raised his eyebrow.

"Yup. It seems that Cross has visited there and left behind some "predictions", so the exorcists will be meeting some trouble, especially with their uniform on," Allen explained.

"I see. Do you know who are the ones going on this mission?"

"Daisya Barry and Lavi. I believe the Bookman is joining them there." Allen headed towards the door.

"Where are you heading, Shounen?" Tyki got up and followed Allen, who opened the door.

"My room. I want to read."

"Can I join you?"

Allen's head turned back and there was a devilish smirk on his face. "As long as you are reading the same book as me and I am not sitting on the couch."

"As you wish," Tyki responded with a smirk.

* * *

**At night… with the exorcists…**

"Man, this town looks so dreary! It's as if there's a black cloud over it!" Daisya exclaimed as he stepped out of the train station.

"I know, right?" Lavi agreed as he followed with both hands behind his head.

"Eh, who's this?"

"What are you talking about?" Lavi questioned as he opened his eye and looked ahead. In front of the two was a gloomy-looking man still as a statue with a stand in front of him.

"Excuse me!" Daisya called out and walked towards the man.

"Hey! Daisya!" Lavi exclaimed with surprise as he ran to catch up to his fellow exorcist.

"Oh! This is unusual! Having someone come to this town," the man said.

"Nice to meet ya! I am Daisya Barry!" Daisya introduced with his usual friendliness.

"You! T-Th-That's… That Crest?" the man exclaimed with shock.

"Ah…" Daisya glanced down at his crest with confusion before looking back up at the man. "What about it?"

But by the time Daisya looked up, the man had already darted away, leaving a trail of smoke behind.

"Excuse me! You forgot this! He's gone… what was that about?" Daisya called out.

"That sure was a weird guy…" Lavi remarked, looking at where the man had gone. Suddenly his eyes widened drastically. "Daisya!"

"Hm?" Daisya asked as he checked out the stand the man left behind.

"Look!" Lavi was taken back. There was a horde of men armed with pitchforks and shovels heading towards them.

Daisya looked at where Lavi was pointing at and he took a step back. "What the heck?

Soon, the men had surrounded them.

"Wh-what…? Hey! Just a...! Hold on!" Daisya shouted, but before he could anything else out, the men had picked the both of them up and carried them away.

* * *

**Later… with Allen and Tyki…**

"London bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down. London bridge is falling down, my fair lady," Allen sung out as he swung his legs back and forth, hitting his feet against the cushion of the chair he was on.

"My my, Shounen. You sure are in a good mood," Tyki remarked with a smile.

"Of course! We are going to meet with the exorcists again! They will be soooo surprised!" Allen replied childishly with a smile.

"Why are you so happy to see the exorcists?" Tyki questioned with a tinge of jealousy. "Are you interested in any of them or something?"

"Of course I am interested in them! They are just so much fun to play with!" Allen pretended to be ignorant of the jealousy he heard present in Tyki's voice.

Tyki narrowed his eyes. "Is there a certain one you are interested in?" '_I will be sure to end the life of that unworthy fellow._'

"Hm… there are so many of them though… Like that one with the long smooth hair. I just love his hair! There's also that red haired one named Lavi. He has so many identities! And he pretends to be this easy go lucky guy when in reality, he's observing everyone's motives and actions carefully. And now we are going to meet two new ones! Daisya is it? I wonder what he is like? Is he going to be as complicated as Lavi? And what about this new vampire dude? An Innocence Accommodator with an Akuma as his lover. What irony!"

'_What the heck…? Why do they all have to be guys! I will be sure to make them pay a price for catching the interest of **my** Shounen!_' Tyki thought with annoyance as he balled up his fist inside his pocket.

Allen finally couldn't take it anymore and let out a laugh, catching Tyki's attention.

"Shounen? Are you sure you are sane right now?" Tyki questioned with a look of confusion.

"Hahahahaha. Do you know how ridiculous your jealousy is? Of course I am interested in them! But not in the way you are thinking of!" Allen continued laughing. '_Plus… the only one I have my eyes on is you._'

Tyki's cheek slightly reddened, but not noticeably. "Of-of course I am not jealous! Who would be jealous of them!"

"Sure, whatever you say! Anyways, we are almost there," Allen said as he looked out the window, sobering up. "What do you think we should do first?"

Tyki nodded. "We should observe them first. What are we going to do about that Akuma?"

"Maybe we will leave her be. Let's not get in the way of love." Allen decided, thinking about him and Tyki as he was saying that. In a way, he viewed the vampire and Akuma similar to that of him and Tyki. Tyki was a Noah while Allen was an Innocence Accommodator, they were not fated to even exist together peacefully, but because of a twist of fate, they are existing together peacefully. He would kill anyone who came in between them.

"But the Order won't be as kind on her as you are." Tyki didn't care much about the decision, whatever his Shounen wanted, whatever he can have, the rest of his family would agree with him on that.

"I know. But knowing Cross, he probably turned the Akuma into a modified one."

"True. Then leaving her alone it will be."

* * *

**Later that night… at Krory's castle…**

"My, what an interesting duo these two are," Allen remarked as he looked on with amusement. They were sitting on top of the castle's outer walls.

"They sure are," Tyki agreed.

"Dai~sya~!" Lavi called out.

"EH?" Daisya replied, startled.

"Why are you playing with your cowl? Don't tell me you are scared?" Lavi said with a knowing smile.

Daisya waved it off with an uneasy laugh. "Of course not!" Then seeing Lavi's hand, a knowing smile of his own appeared on his face. "What about you Lavi? Your right hand is on your weapon…"

Lavi tried to cover it up. "I'm not really scared or anything."

They both broke into an awkward laugh.

Without warning, a sound was heard and they both froze with terror.

"And the vampire is here," Allen announced with a smile of excitement.

"It's getting closed," Lavi observed as he and Daisya stood next to each other back-to-back.

Suddenly, a blur whirled past the two.

"What was that?" Daisya exclaimed.

"It's fast!"

"A fragrance?" Daisya questioned, looking for the source.

"Just now, there was some kind of sweet scent," the town's leader, Georg, remarked.

"Let's go find the Akuma," Allen decided as he got up and darted into the castle without anyone noticing.

"As you wish," Tyki replied as he followed after the white-haired boy.

Without a problem, Allen tracked down the Akuma he was looking for.

"So, what's your name?" Allen questioned with an innocent smile as he stepped out of the shadows, surprising the blonde woman with his presence.

"Eh? Who are you?" the woman responded with distrust.

"No one of importance. But really, you just hide so well. I bet that vampire doesn't know who you really are, correct?" Allen continued on as if he was ignorant of the distrust.

"Oh? And what am I?" the blonde began walking towards Allen lightly.

"An Akuma. A level-two Akuma that the Earl sent to investigate about Arystar Krory III because he was strange," Allen responded easily as Tyki stayed in the shadows, observing the conversation with alertness. "So what's your name?"

The blonde's eyes narrowed with shock. "Who are you?"

"My name is Allen Walker, what is your name?" Allen introduced himself with a slight bow.

"Allen Walker? Who are you? What do you know?" The woman persisted.

"My my, you are a curious one, aren't you, Eliade? I was only trying to be polite," Allen lightly chided.

"Who are you!" Eliade was beginning to get frustrated. She had hidden so well, who was this boy that know so much about her? Eliade was right in front of Allen now.

"Just a nobody."

"I asked! WHO ARE YOU!" Eliade, frustrated, changed into her Akuma form and without hesitance, sent one of her specialty bubbles towards Allen, her bubbles hitting Allen's eyes.

Allen cried out in pain and his left hand flew to his eye.

"That is enough," Tyki commanded in a stern voice as he finally stepped out of the shadows in his Noah form. He immediately went to Allen and helped him up. "Are you alright, Shounen?"

Eliade's eyes widened in shock and terror as she stepped back in horror. '_A Noah is here? Why? How come?_'

"Yeah, I will be fine. Don't worry about it," Allen said through clenched teeth and a forced smile. "It was expected anyways, I was playing with fire."

"You could have avoided it, but you didn't. Why didn't you?" Tyki took away Allen's hand and examined the boy's eye carefully. "It's not too bad… it should recover by itself soon."

"I probably deserved that. After all, it's as if I am trying to destroy the life that she and that vampire have built here."

Eliade finally found her voice and spoke up, "Master Noah, why are you here?"

"We are just here on a mission to see how you are doing and observe the exorcists that are here," Tyki replied, sending a cold glance towards Eliade. He instantly disliked anyone who hurt Allen.

"Tyki! You are scaring her!" Allen scolded and whacked Tyki on the head, earning an "ouch" from the man. Allen turned to face Eliade with a gentle smile. "Please don't worry. We are really here for the exorcists. You can do whatever you want. Just don't kill the exorcists."

"Who are you?" Eliade was definitely surprised. The Earl isn't someone who would just spare her like that.

"Allen here is the treasure of the Noah family. Anyone who crosses him, crosses the entire family. And anything that Allen want, he will have," Tyki replied for Allen.

"Che. Not anything," Allen contradicted. "If I wanted my death, you guys definitely won't let me have it."

"True enough."

"Why are you here in the castle?" Eliade was careful in her behavior. From the sound of what was said, she must be careful to not hurt or cross Allen in anyway.

"We are just paying you a visit. I have a question though," Allen informed as he stood up with the help of Tyki.

"What is it, Master Allen?"

"Are you a modified Akuma now?" Allen didn't waste any time and got straight to the point.

"H-how?" Eliade's eyes widened in shock once more.

"It's something that Cross would do if it's to his benefit. But where did you meet him? The last time I heard, by the time you got here, Cross has already been long gone."

"I had met him on the way to Romania. I had ditched my group of minions to go shopping when I met him. I could tell he was an exorcist and I wanted to please Earl-sama, so once he was alone, I attacked him. But for some reason, instead of attacking me back, he told me he could modify Akumas and he did that to me. Before he left, he said, "You would be perfect for that Krory fella," and "You are such a pretty little woman, it's a shame that you are an Akuma." I don't know why he did what he did, but for allowing me to live like a human without the ugly nature of Akumas, I am grateful," Eliade explained without hesitance.

"That sounds like him. But what other motive would he have to modify you?" Allen pondered to himself. From the distance, he could hear some noise. "It seems that Krory has returned. We will leave you be for now. Until next time, Eliade."

Without wasting another second, both Tyki and Allen melted back into the shadows.

* * *

**Later…**

"Wow, they sure made a mess!" Allen commented as he jumped into the hall through a broken window along with Tyki. The scene before them was composed of debris littered everywhere, a waving fire and that of a blonde woman holding onto a man.

"Allen!" Lavi called out with surprise as he took notice of the two's presence.

"Who are they, Lavi? Do you know them?" Daisya questioned as he regarded the two with curiosity.

"My name is Allen Walker and I am just an acquaintance of Lavi. This is Tyki and he is my friend," Allen introduced with a charming smile as he walked over to Eliade. Suddenly, Allen fell to his knees and let out a scream of agony, his left arm flying to his throbbing eye.

_"I'm back, Allen. The darkness has returned,"_ A voice suddenly called out within Allen's mind.

'_Mana! I decided that when I couldn't see forward… Like when I couldn't see with my left eye… I would continue to be with my family. I would be prepared, like my allies. Mana!_' Allen thought within his mind.

_"Then, go deeper… into the world of dark and light. Let yourself fall."_

'_Welcome back, Mana,_' Allen thought with a small smile as he opened his eyes and let his arm fall down. His eyes met with a pair of worried eyes. When the eye was uncovered, there were two mechanical lens sprouting from the eye.

"Are you alright, Shounen?" Tyki asked with worry, he was scared to death when Allen just suddenly clutched his eye like that without warning.

"Yes. It was just Mana. It seems dear Mana has gifted me with another gift," Allen said with a smile.

Tyki's eyes narrowed with caution. "Another gift?"

"Eh?" Lavi suddenly spoke up. His rubbed his eyes as if to shake off an illusion. "Eh… something's weird. Daisya… What is this? There's a soul next to that woman."

"No way!" Daisya exclaimed in disbelief and turned to see what Lavi was referring to, his face etching into a look of shock when he did so. "Th-there really is!"

Allen smiled a knowing smile. "That, my friend, would be the soul of an Akuma."

"The soul of an Akuma?" Lavi was shocked.

Allen nodded in response and continued thoughtfully, "It seems as if someone other than me can see their souls now. Maybe this is the product of Mana's gift."

Lavi's eyes widened. "You can see the soul of an Akuma?"

"Yes. Even if they are in disguise, I have been able to see their souls ever since I was cursed by dear Mana." Allen looked onto the soul of Eliade. "As the evolution of the Akumas progresses, the souls inside deteriorate further and suffer greater. That is the fate of Akumas unless they are destroyed by Innocence."

"Then why do you still allow them to suffer if you are so aware of their fate?" Lavi asked as he absorbed the information to relay to the Bookman later.

"Because… when I was suffering, no one ever reached out a hand to me. So why I should I save them? Humanity has abused me and I will only repay them back with interest," Allen answered with a gleam of anger in his eyes.

Lavi couldn't find anything to say. It was true, he has seen how humanity has continued abusing the weak and no matter what happens, they will never change.

"Ah… it seems that the man is coming to," Allen announced with a regular smile. "Let's see how he will respond to this, shall we?"

"Eliade…" Krory called out as he slowly opened his eyes.

"A-Arystar-sama!" Eliade responded with relief.

"Eliade… what is that? Next to you… there's something coming out of your body… What is it?" Krory's eyes visibly widened in shock as he saw the soul that was coming out of Eliade's body.

"That would be the soul of one that has been called back, trapped as the energy source for an Akuma. You guys can all see it because my left eye has become more powerful. The curse that Mana left me has become stronger. The Akuma souls that I see with this eye are now visible to humans other than me," Allen informed. "That person is an Akuma. An enemy of you and them."

"A-An Akuma?" Krory was in disbelief.

"Yes. An Akuma. Now that you know the truth… do you still love her or are you disgusted by her?" Allen confirmed with a nod as he began walking towards Krory and Eliade once again.

"What are you trying to do, Allen?" Lavi questioned, unsure of the boy's motives.

"Trying to see if his love is real or false. Trying to decide their fate. If he chooses wrong, both their lives will be lost, but if he chooses right, I will spare them both and leave them alone, which I suggest you to do the same." Allen watched Krory's changing expressions closely. "So… what do you choose, Arystar Krory?"

* * *

**[Notes] -**

Eliade's special power is to be able to produce bubbles that absorb all the water inside the victim's body. [Courtesy of wiki.]

Some of the conversation is taken directly from a fansubbed version of the DGM anime.

* * *

I hope you were okay by this chapter and you enjoyed it. I apologize for leaving you guys at a sort-of cliffhanger. :P But I swear I will try to keep up a regular update. But I can't promise anything. I will update soon, I hope, and that I won't go off on a long hiatus.

I would love it if you guys leave a feedback, and an occasional reminder to update or "update soon" will work well, coz I would soon go into guilt about not updating and then I will try to get the next chapter done. :)

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! :) Don't fret if you don't have a Valentine, coz Tyki and Allen will always be there for you! :D

Until next time,

Zenophobiaz

Published: 02/14/11


	13. Chapter 13: The Beginning

**A/N:** Thank you everyone for your reviews and for everyone who read the last chapter, surprisingly, I am updating already. Anyways, special thanks to: Sachiel Angelo, skidney, M. M. Moo, dgm-mega fan, Miss. Jessi-Pon, MnMsRoKaNdPoKeRpAiR, gothicgirl12, uchihafan32, Krystal Liu, Narutopokefan, Dhragonis-Slytherin, and ShizukiTheAwesome! I thank all of you who stuck with me since the beginning~ :) Also thank you to everyone else who placed my story on their favorites and/or story alert list, coz that means a whole lot to me. Just looking at those numbers make me wanna write more. :)

Because last chapter was so short, I made this chapter longer even though I was about to end it at like the 3000 word mark coz i found the right place to end it. :P But I decided not to, so I present to you a 6,250 words chapter. :) I am prob not gonna have those crazy long chapters any time soon in the future. -_-

* * *

**Disclaimer:** Like DGM would ever belong to me. As if. -_-

I apologize in advance for any grammars/typos.

Enjoy~ Let's see what Krory is gonna choose, huh?

* * *

**Chapter 13 – The Beginning**

* * *

"_That person is an Akuma. An enemy of you and them."_

"_A-An Akuma?" Krory was in disbelief._

"_Yes. An Akuma. Now that you know the truth… do you still love her or are you disgusted by her?" Allen confirmed with a nod as he began walking towards Krory and Eliade once again._

"_What are you trying to do, Allen?" Lavi questioned, unsure of the boy's motives._

"_Trying to see if his love is real or false. Trying to decide their fate. If he chooses wrong, both their lives will be lost, but if he chooses right, I will spare them both and leave them alone, which I suggest you to do the same." Allen watched Krory's changing expressions closely. "So… what do you choose, Arystar Krory?"_

* * *

'_Wh-what should I do? Whatever my choice is, it will affect both Eliade's and my fate… Do I still love Eliade? Yes. Do I mind that she lied to me? Sort of. But why did she lie to me? I don't know,_' Krory thought as he looked at Eliade's face. "Eliade. Why did you lie to me? Did you really love me?"

Eliade's sight flew to a space behind Krory. '_Why did I do what I did? Perhaps it was because I finally found a man that was strong enough to be in my presence. All I ever wanted was to have the beauty that someone in love has. Because no matter how "beautiful" or "cute" I was to those men, my beauty would never compare to that of a woman in love. I wanted to finally have that beauty.'_

"So Eliade, was your love all a farce or was it something that you wanted to be real?" Allen asked with a smirk. He already knew the answer. He knew the thoughts of this woman and how real she wanted the love between her and the vampire to be, but was her want enough? "You better be truthful, my lady."

'_When I met Arystar, I instantly got the feeling that he could destroy me and I wouldn't mind it if he was the one who ended me. But… now… do I want to be destroyed or do I want to live with him maybe for the rest of eternity? Just him… and me. Yes… that is something I want, even more than all the clothes and make-up I can get._'

"Eliade?" Krory spoke up, he was feeling afraid of what was about to be said. Would it be something that would break his heart or would it be something that would allow him the happiness that would make him happy for the rest of his life?

"I… I wanted to love you, Arystar," Eliade told him truthfully.

Krory gave a grim smile. "Maybe that is enough for me."

"So what's your decision then, Krory?" Allen questioned while exchanging a look with Tyki. Tyki knew exactly what Allen has planned and gave Allen a nod of support.

"I… I still love her. I still want to be with her," Krory answered while looking at Allen and taking Eliade's hand into his.

A contented smile appeared on Allen's face and slowly, claps rung in the air. "Good job, Krory. You have made the wise decision. I would hate to have killed you both." Allen turned to look at Lavi and Daisya before continuing, "Now, exorcists, I have a recommendation for you."

"What is it?" It was Lavi who spoke up.

"Well, I guess it's not as much of a recommendation as it is a threat. I suggest that you tell the Order to stop trying to recruit Krory because he is now under my protection and unless he wants to, you are not allowed to force him to join the Order," Allen demanded with a frosty stare.

"But we must at least bring Krory back to the Order once to see how synchronized Krory is with his Innocence," Lavi protested.

"Fair enough, but only if you insure that Krory will safely return to this castle straight away. I will make sure my threat is carried out if not," Allen compromised.

"I will. I swear on my life," Lavi promised with a nod. He wouldn't want the Clan of Noahs to go after him. Even if he's supposed to stay neutral, the Noahs and Allen are just spiking his interest more and more.

"I will hold you to it then," Allen said with a slightly threatening smile before gesturing for Tyki to follow him. "Now, we must go. Our goal here is completed. Farewell, Exorcists."

With that, Allen hopped onto a nearby window's hedge with the help of his Innocence and left the hall. Tyki, using his Noah abilities, levitated himself out of the room as well.

"I guess they are gone then," Lavi remarked. "He only stays until he wants to leave and then he's gone like the wind."

"Who were those two, Lavi?" Daisya questioned with a curious look.

"That was the Destroyer of Time, Allen Walker, and a Noah named Tyki Mikk," Lavi replied, his eyes still glued to the window that Allen had left through.

"The Destroyer of Time? A Noah?" Daisya was confused.

"Hevlaska had prophesized a Destroyer of Time when she sensed a point breaker. And soon, it was concluded that Allen was that point breaker. Yes, Allen is an Innocence Accommodator, a strong one too. He might very well be the Heart we've been looking for."

Daisya was shocked and his face showed exactly that. "Th-Then why isn't he an Exorcist?

"Because humanity has done him wrong and he has no desire to help humanity. Instead, he wants to help destroy it," Lavi said with a wistful look.

"Then why isn't he a Fallen One?"

"That, I have no idea. As for a Noah, they are the allies of the Millennium Earl, they each have a special power."

"Do-Does th-that mean Allen is working with the E-Earl then, if a Noah was with him?" Daisya questioned as another wave of shock came over him.

"Yes, in fact, they would most likely do anything Allen wants because they love him above everything else. I imagine that if Allen wanted to save humanity, the Noahs would help him, but unfortunately, humanity has done Allen wrong and they will eventually perish because of that."

"You don't believe the Order can save humanity?" Daisya asked, slightly disbelieving.

"No. The Order is only trying to save itself, not humanity. They might say that, but have they really been saving lives? Aren't they destroying lives as well? And anyways, if the Noahs really wanted, they can probably destroy the Order completely anytime they want. There are thousands of Akumas with 13 super humans along with an Innocence Accommodator on the general level against 20 or so Exorcists. Who will win in the end? Noahs or humanity?"

"You are correct. If the Earl really wanted, there's no way the Order would still exist. And judging from what you said, the only hope you had of beating the Noahs and the Earl would have been that boy," Eliade inputted as she got up and dusted off her skirt. She had been listening to the two Exorcists' conversation the entire time but chose to stay silent.

"Is there really no way to escape the fate of doom?" Daisya questioned, searching the two's eyes for the answer he wanted, but there was nothing.

"I think you already know the answer, do you not?" Eliade began walking towards the exit of the hall.

Finally noticing the baron's absence, Lavi questioned, "Hey, where's Krory?"

"While you guys were talking, Arystar decided to go ahead and clean himself up before leaving with you guys, if you like, you can go clean yourself up as well. I'd show you the way." Eliade paused right in front of the doors and looked back, waiting for an answer.

"That'd be nice, thank you!" Lavi responded, reverting back to his happy-go-lucky self, and ran over to Eliade.

"Hey! Wait up, Lavi! Don't leave me here with those man-eating plants!" Daisya called out as he raced to catch up, avoiding the plants in his path.

"Catch me if you can Dai~sya~!" Lavi called back with a laugh as he opened the doors and dragged Eliade with him.

"I will definitely get you!"

* * *

**Later… on the train…**

"Man! That was so tiring! Krory is like a little naïve child going out onto the streets for the first time!" Lavi plopped himself onto the train's stuffed seating.

"Well, technically, he is." Daisya was tired as well. Krory had been very curious and was all over the place while they were in a nearby town. He had practically wanted to buy everything and it didn't help that he easily believed what people said. Just now, he had give all his clothes, with the exception of his boxers, to a flower selling girl who told him a sob story of how she had to feed her sick 10,000-years-old grandpa and 2,000 little brothers. Anyone with even an ounce of common sense would have known it was nonsense immediately, but Krory had believed it through and through. Who has even heard of a 10,000-years-old grandpa?

"Whatever!" Lavi placed his hand over his eyes. "He couldn't possibly get lost on a straight line..."

"Let's hope so…"

* * *

**Three hours later…**

"I take that back, he did get lost on a straight line. How is that even possible?" Lavi whined, throwing his hands up in the air and got up.

"I dunno. But let's go look for him. We don't want him to be in deeper trouble than he probably is in already."

"Agreed. Let's go."

Before long, Lavi and Daisya were able to locate Krory and the sight before them was surprising. Krory had lost all of his clothing once again, but this time, he had lost them in what looked to be a game of strip poker.

"What the heck is going on?" Lavi blurted out without thinking, his eyes were locked on the deck of cards sitting innocently on the ground.

"Eh?" A man with curly, dark-colored hair and swirly glasses that hid his eyes was sitting in front of Krory with the deck of cards in between them. "Sorry, this area is currently off limits to young boys." Then looking back at Krory, he asked, "So how about it? Let's play one more round."

"N-No… but… that…" Krory stuttered, looking at the cards with a reluctant expression.

"What are you doing, Krory?" Lavi questioned, his eyes switching back and forth between the cards, the curly-haired man, and Krory.

"Th-These men invited me to play poker. And then before I knew it, I ended up like this," Krory replied and he ended it with a sneeze.

Both Daisya and Lavi had a 'Crap!' expressions on their face, they both thought, '_He got hustled…_'

"Hey hey, don't run away," the curly-haired man scolded as both he and another brown-haired man leaned towards Krory, with Krory slightly backing up. "_You_ challenged us to this duel. If you are a man, see it through to the end."

"B-But…" Krory didn't know what to say, he didn't have anything more to lose.

"We will play for him instead," Lavi intervened.

"Eh? But! But!" Daisya protested with wide eyes, looking at the cards with nervousness. Sure, he knew how to play poker, but he doesn't know how to cheat like these men do, there's no way he can win against them!

"No buts! It can't be helped. Do you wanna see a nude Krory? I sure don't!" Lavi retorted and Daisya shivered at that mental image. "Plus, I promised to insure Krory's safety. I don't want my still blooming life to end yet!"

"Alright then, boys. Who's playing first and what are you guys betting with?" Tyki said with a shrug. He didn't mind having a switch of player, it just meant more winnings for him and his buds.

"I will go first," Daisya volunteered as he began taking off his coat. "I will bet this and all of Krory's clothes. The decorations on this coat are made of silver."

"Good luck, Daisya!" Lavi wished with a pat on Daisya's back.

"I sure will need it."

Not before long, Daisya ended up in the same condition as Krory, freezing cold and almost-naked. Seeing his partner's lost, Lavi took over, but even though he fared better than Daisya, he still was no match to the experienced players.

'_Crap. What are we going to do now? We don't have anything else to bet on!'_ Lavi thought. But before he could fret any further, a distinctively familiar voice interrupted his thoughts.

"My my, you guys have _already_ ran into trouble?" A certain white-haired boy questioned with an amused shake of his head as he leaned against the cabin door's frame. He had opened the door without any of the Exorcist's noticing because they were all too deep into their thoughts.

Surprised, Lavi, Daisya, and Krory look up. '_When did he get in here? And how the heck did he get in without us noticing?_' Lavi thought as he carefully watched Allen.

Without minding the others, Allen walked towards Tyki until he stood right next to the sitting form of Lavi. From his pants pocket, Allen took out five gold coins and took off his dress coat. "How about I use these as my wager to get back these poor fellows' clothes? This coat is made of the finest silk and wool. Would you like to challenge me?"

The eyes of Tyki's friends widened in shock while a smirk appeared on Tyki's face.

"Sure, why not? Just don't blame me if you lose," Tyki said with a shrug and a challenging spark in his eyes.

"As if that would happen." Allen folded the cuff of his sleeves up and sat down once Lavi moved away.

Sure enough, Allen didn't lose a single game and kept on surprising the miners with his hand of cards. Soon, the three miners were down to their boxers.

In shock, Lavi and Daisya exclaimed, "H-How?"

Allen just smirked in reply as he continued giving Tyki a taunting look. Tyki's eyes narrowed behind his glasses. '_If only I can use my Noah powers right now or wipe that smug smirk of his face. But even so, he would still beat me. Maybe I shouldn't have taught him how to play and cheat at poker._'

Allen just gave them an innocent smile and said, "I think we are done here, gentlemen. I am afraid it's time for me to go. I will leave your clothes to those two, they can do whatever they want with the clothes."

As Allen got up, Tyki mocked, "Are you afraid to start losing to us?"

Allen placed his coat back on and looked at them. "No, I am just afraid that you guys don't have anything left to lose. Goodbye, my friends."

"Hold on, Allen!" Lavi called out as he scrambled to get up, but when Lavi opened the door after Allen stepped out of the train cabin and closed the door, there wasn't a single trace of Allen left.

'_How the heck did he disappear so fast?_' Lavi thought as he turned back.

"The next stop is Berg Mines. The next stop is Berg Mines," a male announcer came on.

"Oh, I guess it's our stop now," Tyki remarked as he got up and dusted off nonexistent dirt.

"Sure is," the one with a cap on agreed and got up as well.

As the group of miners exited the train, they were met with the sight of a disguised Allen waiting for them, leaning against a nearby pole. He had on a brown-haired wig with long, layered bangs that covered up his left eye's scar and shaggy, but not totally dirty clothing. He also had on a bag slung across his back.

"There you are, Nel. I was beginning to wonder where you were," Tyki greeted with a small secretive smile.

"I just got lost while looking for the bathroom," Allen replied with a fake sheepish smile while everyone except for Tyki sweat-dropped, thinking, '_How can he get lost on a train,_' but Tyki knew better.

"You are as hopeless as ever, Nel," Tyki commented with a shake of his head.

"Hey!" a cheerful voice called out, catching the attention of Tyki and Allen.

Tyki turned back and questioned, "Yes?"

"Here are you guys' clothes," Lavi informed as he tossed the group their luggage baskets back.

The miners fumbled to catch the luggage. Tyki, watching his fellow friends looking through their luggage in the corner of his eyes, raised his eyebrow at the exorcist.

"We already got our clothes back thanks to Allen, we don't need yours. It's tough to be naked in this season, isn't it?" Lavi responded at the unasked question.

Tyki nodded while Allen let out a small chuckle and commented, "I guess you guys got your butts kicked pretty bad, huh."

Tyki glared in response and put back on his clothes. Soon, the train's whistle was heard, signaling the departure of the train.

From his pants pocket, Allen pulled out a pack of cards with checkered background. "Hey, Lavi!" At the sound of his name, Lavi looked in the direction of Allen, catching something that came his way. "Here's a souvenir for playing cards with my friends and a token of our apology."

"Huh?" Lavi was examining the cards.

"They had it coming." Allen smirked towards Tyki and his friends' direction, causing Tyki an annoyed look and the other miners a sheepish look.

As the train began to pull away, Lavi shot Allen one of his signature smile and thanked him for the cards.

Suddenly, Lavi had a random thought, '_How the heck does that boy know my name? I never told him and his friends never mentioned it. Oh well… No use worrying about it._'

Back at the train station, Allen and the miners were watching as the train disappeared into the tunnel.

"Tyki, Nel, Iizu! Let's go! Let's say hello to the guys at the mine, then we can get some food," the man with the brown-colored knit hat said.

"Right!" Tyki agreed as they began to turn around. Suddenly, the train station's public phone rang.

Both Tyki and Allen looked at the phone's direction with surprise. Tyki went to pick it up. Allen remarked, "I guess we will have to leave you now, it seems as though another job just came in."

"Huh? One of you guys' secret part-time job? You've been getting a lot of those lately!" the one with the brown straightened hair commented, looking over at Tyki.

"Yeah." Allen was looking over at Tyki, trying to use his heightened sense of hearing to hear the conversation, but it was to no avail.

"It can't be helped then. All right, we are going. See you guys later," the knit hat one replied.

The rest of them bided farewell before disappearing from Allen's sight range.

Once Tyki finished his phone call, Allen asked, "I guess that was Millennie?"

"Yes. Let's go," Tyki confirmed as he headed towards the tunnel that the tracks led to, gesturing Allen to follow him.

"Alright then. Off we go." Allen ran to catch up to Tyki's long strides.

* * *

**Later that night… at the Ark…**

"I am full. Now comes dessert," the Earl concluded as everyone else finished their eating and an Akuma maid comes over, serving the parfait to the Earl.

"I want to eat too! ~relo!"

"Earl-sama, you didn't gather us here just for a meal, did you?" Tyki questioned, folding his hands on top of the table as he and Allen exchanged a knowing look.

"The great story that we have been playing out is about to start a new chapter. It is now time for all of you to appear," the Earl began and both Allen and Road grinned at the last part. "It will be fun from now on!" the Earl ended with one of his maniacal laughs.

The entire family grinned in excitement and anticipation.

* * *

**Somewhere else in Europe…**

As the Akuma dropped onto the ground with smoke coming out of its body, a slightly maniacal laugh emitted from its mouth. Kanda turned back to face it.

"No matter how hard you try, there is no future for you. It's finished," the Akuma foreshadowed.

"What do you mean?" Kanda questioned.

"It's a message from the Millennium Earl," the Akuma replied.

Suddenly, a new voice was heard.

"The time is right. The 7000-year prelude is over," the voice began and Kanda looked up. The Earl was floating in front of the full moon with the help of his umbrella. And on top of the umbrella sat Allen and Road, both swinging their feet back and forth as they watched the scene unfold before them with interest. "And now, a different tune will begin. Don't miss the rising of the curtain. You are the actors…" The Earl took a bow and paused, looking straight at Kanda, before continuing, "…Exorcists."

Without hesitance, Kanda stabbed his katana straight through the body of the Akuma, causing it to explode before walking away. "So this is where the real thing starts? What a joke."

* * *

**At General Yeegar's place…**

An ordinary looking playing card was twirled on the tip of Tyki's finger, but after two turns, the picture of the card turned to that of a picture of General Yeegar. "Is that it?" Tyki questioned.

"He doesn't look like a fun guy to play with," Road remarked and took a step forward. "Let's hurry up and get this over with, Tyki, Allen."

"Yes." Allen was looking bored as he sat on a branch of a nearby tree.

Road pointed Lero at the traveling carriage. "Bang!"

* * *

**Back at the Order…**

_Ring. Ring. Ring._

"Yes," Komui answered in a serious tone of voice.

"_It's Kanda. I retrieved the Innocence._"

"Hai, hai! Good work! So how is it? How is Copenhagen? Is the sea beautiful? Is the scenery captivating? Unlike you, I can't go out. I'm like a captured pri—"

"_There was an absurd message from the Millennium Earl."_

Komui took a sharp intake of breath at this.

"_He says that the real thing starts now." Kanda retold what the Earl told him._

"What's the meaning of this?"

Suddenly, the other phones began ranging as well and Reever and Johnny rushed to answer it with their piles of paper in their hands.

"Supervisor! An Exorcist in Austria says he got a message from the Millennium Earl!" Reever reported in an urgent tone.

"Supervisor! So did the Exorcists in Hungary!" Johnny confirmed.

Komui had a look of shock on his face.

* * *

**Back at General Yeegar's place…**

Suddenly, the traveling carriage was met with a barricade of Akumas. Instinctively, the Finder driving the carriage pulled the carriage into a stop with a gasp. The other finders scurried out of the carriage and questioned what was wrong.

General Yeegar stepped out of the wagon and seeing the Akumas, he faced them with a grim look. Road removed the opened Lero who was covering her face and at the sight of the girl, General Yeegar questioned, "Who are you?"

"Road Kamelot."

Tyki stepped out of the shadow of an Akuma's leg and took off his top hat. "Tyki Mikk."

Allen hopped off of a nearby tree. "Allen Walker."

General Yeegar's eyes widened at the face and name. He had of course heard of that name and even saw the face that matched the name. The Order was on the lookout for that boy.

Putting back on his top hat, Tyki began, "General Yeegar, we will make you hand over all the Innocence that you have." Tyki pulled on his gloves tighter. "That includes your own Innocence, of course," he concluded with a smile full of foul intentions.

Allen really wanted to just go over there and whack Tyki on the head for that, _'Tyki is such an idiot!_'

"Do you think I will hand it over so easily?" the General questioned as he pulled out his Innocence weapon.

"Is that your Innocence?" Road asked excitedly, but shushed at the warning look that Allen sent her way.

"Of course not, but that doesn't mean we can't try," Allen replied with a small smile. "We brought two surprisingly strong Akuma warriors with us, but if the fight ends too quickly, it won't be any fun. Please try to hold out a while, _**sensei**_."

"Thierry! Piero! Bern!" General Yeegar called out.

"Sir!"

"I will make an opening on the left. Escape that way!" General Yeegar commanded.

"How noble of you, General," Allen said as he took a step forward, then he looked at the three finders. "You three should do as he say. There are too many of you guys for him to fight while protecting you. You don't want to be a hindrance to him, do you?"

"General…" one of the finders attempted to protest.

"This is an order. Hurry up and report this to Headquarters!" the General ordered before he began piercing the Akumas with his Innocence.

At this, Tyki smirked as the three finders scampered to the nearest phone station. Several times, the three finders turned back in worry, but each time, the General reassured them and told them to keep going. In the end, the three finders saluted him before hurrying to do as the general said.

"That stubbornness will cost you your life," Tyki remarked as he walked to where the carriage was and Road floated onto the top of the carriage.

"Indeed," Allen agreed.

* * *

**Back at the Order…**

_Ring. Ring._

"Supervisor! General Yeegar has been attacked!" Reever called out in panic as Komui looked up from his work with widened eyes.

After listening some more, Reever reported, "The enemy is multiple Akumas, two members of the Noah clan, and… and Allen Walker!"

Komui rose up from his chair with shock-filled eyes. "Confirm their location."

"Yes!"

"Report this to all Exorcists! General Yeegar is being attacked by the Noah Clan and Allen Walker. All Exorcists in the vicinity must head there immediately!"

"Yes!" Johnny affirmed before dashing off with the rest of the people in Komui's room.

Komui's eyes followed them with a grim look.

* * *

**Back with Allen…**

"Oh… he's trying hard," Road commented with amusement.

Tyki made an agreeing noise as he continued watching.

The two armored knight Akumas marched towards the General. The silver-colored one spoke up, "Not bad, as I'd expect from a General."

"But we'll stop you," the purple-colored one pronounced.

"Idiots," Allen muttered under his breath as he took a step forward. Seeing his actions, both Road and Tyki smiled, they knew what he was planning to do.

"How pitiful," the general remarked and attacked, but before his chains could reach anything, strips of white cloth pierced through both of the Akumas. The general took a step back in surprise. In front of him stood a white, spiky-haired boy with a white fur cape and claw-like hand. "W-What?" the General managed to get out.

"They were getting on my nerves, acting all high and mighty in front of a general when they can be wiped out as simple as that," Allen replied as he looked up and met the general's eyes.

"Is that your Innocence?" General Yeegar questioned as he fully took in the appearance of Allen.

"Yes. I call it Crown Clown, meaning the Clown of God." Allen examined his own appearance with a certain fondness.

"Enough," Tyki spoke up and took a step forward.

"Aw, you ruin the fun, Tyki," Allen said with a pout as he turned back and began walking towards his family.

"I guess we will have to do it after all," Road said as she jumped off the roof of the carriage and landed right in front of Allen.

"Oh, shut it, Road. You know you will have fun," Allen said playfully with a smile.

"So you two are the Noah clan eh? I've heard that you are not Akuma, but human. So why do you obey the Millennium Earl?"

"We are not obeying him," Tyki replied and Allen raised his eyebrow at this. In return, Tyki sent him a warning look.

"We are not mere humans. We're the greatest humans on earth, superior humans who inherited the genes of Noah," Road added with a smile.

"Superior humans?" General Yeegar asked.

"We're going to end this worth that's filled with old and shriveled people like you." Road watched the General with expectation.

"In the class I taught, there was a girl who said that. She was inexperienced and she did not understand her arrogance." Without warning, the general sent his weapon towards Road and in defense, Road held out Lero.

"I'm choking! ~relo!" The chains were wrapped tightly around the body of Lero.

"Poor Lero, you just had to use him, didn't you, Road?" Allen remarked as he pitied the umbrella. He stepped over to the side of the carriage and leaned against it.

"Of course," Road replied and released Lero.

As Lero was flung back to Road from the general, it glided past Road's skin, causing a line of blood to appear. Road was not happy even when the wound closed up immediately. "You!" She pulled back her arm as a surge of purple-colored light appeared and she flung them at the general. "Take that!"

When the light reached the general, the light dissipate into little tiny shards.

"If that's the case, then I will let you meet your beloved and adorable students," Road continued as the shards began changing the general's surrounding into a blue and black surrounding. There was a pile of dolls and several candles surrounding the place. But soon, a present box was seen surrounding the area the general was in.

A scene of General Yeegar in his younger days and his students calling him in front of the school he taught at.

'_This is…_'

"Look, there's your Akuma student," Road informed with a laugh.

"Joanne!" the general called out.

The girl entered the classroom and the students approached the girl, asking about her wellbeing. Abruptly, the girl turned into an Akuma, scaring all of the students.

"You're an Exorcist, aren't you? You have to exterminate Akuma." It was Road again.

Screams of the children were heard.

"Stop it!" the general commanded as his weapon darted out and speared through the Akuma.

"If only you had been this strong back then, you could've saved everyone." Road once again.

Joanne rose up once more and repeatedly, Joanne turned into an Akuma and the children screamed in terror. It kept on repeating and repeating. Sometimes, the general would be able to save them, but other times, blood was scattered everywhere and they all died. General Yeegar continued protesting and witnessed the repeating seen until finally, he said, "P-Please stop!"

"Then will you give us your Innocence?" Road asked with a dark smile.

"Please stop this!" The general is breaking, he can't take the repeating scene of his students' horrible death and their screams, they were haunting him. He would never be able to erase it from his memory.

"If you give them to me, I'll let you out of here."

"_Sennen ko ha sagashiteru (The Millennium Earl is searching.)_

_Daijina hearto sagashiteru (He is searching for a precious heart.)_

_Anata ha Atari tashikameyo (Let's check to see if you are it.)_" Road and Allen, who had joined her in singing, paused and Road looked at the struggling general before she continued, "Come on, sing with me. Sing it!"

Suddenly, a hand caught Road's arm. Road looked up, "Tyki?"

"That's enough, isn't it? Forget about it." Tyki took a glance at Allen who was just sitting on Lero while swinging his legs.

Seeing Tyki's glance, Allen joined in. "Yes, Road. It's enough. That poor man has suffered enough."

"But—"

"No buts, Road." Allen was insistent.

"Aw… fine," Road relented with a pout. Soon the present box was diminishing and their surroundings returned to their original one.

Without missing a beat, Tyki darted forward, heading straight for the general. "Let's finish this quickly." With a Tease in his hand, he attacked the general.

The general used his Innocence in defense and shakily, he got up. "Everyone, get away. Sensei will… save you… all now."

"Hurry up and be at rest." Tyki sent another Tease towards General Yeegar when the general sent his weapon towards the Noah.

With a light_ thud_, the general landed on his back and in his head, he heard the voices of his students calling him. Looking up into the sky, the general asked, "Was I… able to… protect you all?" His consciousness faded into black and his head tilted to the side. Allen and Tyki began walking towards the unconscious general.

Without warning, the Millennium Earl landed with a puff of purple smoke and questioned, "Is it over?"

Tyki took out the shards of Innocence from the General and held them out for the Earl. One by one, the Earl crushed them all, but none was the Heart. In the deep recess of his mind, Allen was anxious, he was anxious about losing his Innocence, his Innocence has become a huge part of him and his life, he wasn't sure if he would be able to part with it.

"None of them is the Heart," the Earl concluded. Turning to look at the general, he asked, "And the last one?"

"Such smooth hair," Allen commented as he ran his right hand through the general's hair.

Tyki twitched at that comment, but he continued walking to the general's weapon and without a hitch, he changed it back to its original form. Tyki tossed the Innocence towards the Earl with a "Here!" and the Earl, using Lero as his baseball bat, hit the Innocence and broke it into pieces.

"This isn't it either." The Earl was slightly disappointed, but taking a glance at Allen, who let out a sigh of relief unconsciously, he added, "I guess that's okay. At least our dear Allen can keep his Innocence."

"Yes~! Aren't you happy, Allen? Even though we hate Innocence, if it's for you, we don't mind their existence." Road bounced over to Allen who was still patting the general's hair. Allen looked up and gave her a small smile of thanks.

Noticing the general's intake of breath, Road commented, "Oh? He's still alive?"

"I guess so. But even though he's alive, he's bound to his chains," Allen said wistfully as he pulled off one of the buttons from the general's coat and tossed it to Tyki.

Tyki flipped over the button and saw the "_Kevin Yeegar_" that was carved onto it.

* * *

**Later…**

As the reinforcements arrived, they ran to the mourning finder. The finder turned and Daisya and Lavi, who were the reinforcements, turned as well. What their eyes met shocked them to the core. There, the general was hung against the trunk of a tree, his arms bound to the tree with the chains from his weapon.

"Greetings," a voice called out as a boy stepped out of the shadow of the trees.

Baffled, Lavi and Daisya turned around and the face that their eyes met shocked them. "Wh-Why are you still here?" Lavi managed to get out.

"Because I have a… message for you," Allen replied as he took a step forward, his eyes going to the general.

"From the Millennium Earl?" Daisya asked.

"No. From me."

Surprised, Lavi stuttered, "F-From y-you?"

"Yes. Tsugi ha dare?"

Daisya and Lavi's eyes widened at what Allen said, but before they could say anything, Allen was gone.

As Allen walked towards where his family was, he looked to the sky and said, "Yes indeed, this is the beginning of the end."

* * *

**[Note]**—

Once again, some dialogues are taken directly from the fansubbed version of the anime. I take no credit in those dialogues. The reason I use them is that, sometimes, those dialogues just fit so much into the story and they just click. Sorry if that bothers you.

Yeah I know I moved the part where Krory gets tricked by that flower girl, it was just more suiting to the story to have it before he started playing poker. :)

I love the song that Road sing, although it's a lil creepy to some when they start thinking about, but I just love it. :D haha. Anyways, there are many ways 'hearto' is spelled, I have seen 'hatto', 'hato' and 'hearto', and I probably like 'hearto' best. :)

In the anime, it was Allen and Lenalee who were the reinforcements, but obviously, I can't have Allen as one of them. Plus, I suddenly realized that I placed Lenalee still out of commission and in a coma, so I decided to use the Daisya and Lavi pair again.

"Tsugi ha dare?" = "Who is next?" the complete saying would be "Tsugi ha dare desu ka?" but the General doesn't use that entire thing from the song. But yeah, I looked it up with a dictionary. Finally found the correct spelling of it. :) By the way, in case you didn't realize. That phrase is from the second verse of Road's song that General Yeegar sings. Told ya I was in love with it.

* * *

**So yeah… I was like planning to have "Yes indeed, this is the beginning of the end." as my ending phrase, but then as I was watching the anime preview of Episode 26, it showed the episode's name and it was "the beginning of the end" or something similar to that, I was like, "Whoa. Coincidence much?" xD**

Until next time,

Zenophobiaz

Published: 02/20/11

**Update: 02/15/13** So... it's almost been two years since I've updated, and to those new readers and old readers who still read this story, I wanted to let you know that I've started working on this story again and I've been rewriting the first few chapters of the story and editing the rest. I plan on having two or three chapters up on 02/20. They will be posted as a new and separate story. When I have it up, I will post an author note to this story to tell you readers that.


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